
Glass .Jj^ S 
Book- ■■ ..— 



I- 




THE SUPREME DlilTY (aJIIDa) OF THE JAPANESE. 



JAPAN 



THE JAPANESE: 



PRO! THE MOST AUTHENTIC AND RELIABLE SOURCES : 



W\i^ Sllttstratinns 



MANNERS, COSTUMES, RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES, &c. 

/ 
By TALBOT WATTS, M.D., 

I-ATE OF THE HON. THE B. E. I. CO.'S SERVICE, 17tH LT. DRAGOONS, &0 



't -y SECOND EDITION. 

1/" 



NEW YORK: 
J. P. NEAGLE, 18 ANN & 102 NASSAU STREET. 

1 852 






0^ 



^ V-^ 




TO HIS EXCELLENCY 
MILLARD FILLMORE, 

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, 

To whom, and through whose sanction, the following pages are 

most respectfully dedicated, as a humble but lasting tribute to 

his enlarged views of the rights of nations — under whose 

administration the Japanese Expedition was decided 

upon, insuring the highest regard and perpetual 

remembrance of a grateful country, by his 

Excellency's most obedient servant, 

TALBOT WATTS, M. D. 

■124 Greenwich Street. ' 



PREFACE. 



The general interest manifested by all classes of society, for inform- 
ation upon the subject of Japan and the Japanese, renders useless any 
apology for placing before the public all the reliable or valuable in- 
' formation that can be obtained upon the subject — in a form within the 
reach of all. If it were only the great bulk and cost of many of the 
works from which the information is derived, it would prevent a large 
portion from participating in the knowledge ; but the scarcity of some 
of the publications would render it thoroughly impossible for many 
to obtain them, independent of the fact that but few would be ac- 
quainted with the names of the books from which the selections have 
been made, viz : " The Universe Displayed, or a survey of the wonder- 
ful works of creation, and the various customs and inventions of men, 
in which whatever is remarkable throughout the world, both with 
respect to the works of Nature in Plants, Insects, Serpents, Beasts, 
Birds, Fishes, &c., in four volumes, 8vo. R. Goadby: London: 1771." 
It is doubtful if even another copy is to be found in the United States. 
" The Wonders of Nature and Art, or a concise account of whatever is 
most curious and remarkable in the world, compiled from Historical 
and Geographical Works, of established celebrity, and illustrated with 
the Discoveries of Modern Travellers, by the Rev. Thos. Smith, au- 
thor of the Universal Atlas, Sacred Mirror, &c., &c. Revised, corrected 
and improved, by James Mease, M. D., &c. 14 vols : 12mo : Phila., 
1807." Then, the copies of the splendid engravings in Picart's Pieli- 
gious Ceremonies ; the whole article from Malte-Brun's Modern Ge- 
ography, 3 vols. 4to : Boston : 1836 — with all its authorities ; and all 
from McCuUoch's Geographical Dictionary, or Universal Gazeteer, 2- 
vols. 8vo. : 1851 — as well as the various extracts from other sources. 



JV PREFACE. 

In fact, any other plea for profering information upon tlie subject 
would be ridiculous. 

And as to any speculative or prosy articles upon the probable suc- 
cess of the present Expedition, would be alike presumptuous ; all thai 
I feel AYarranted in saying is, no expectation can be realized, that Ja- 
pan may have progressed in knowledge or civilization, owing to their 
seclusion and degenerating influences of their social and religious in- 
stitutions. This remark is made from hearing it expressed, that "It ia 
probable they may have changed their views, and partake in some de- 
gree of the spirit of universal progress, evinced by the people of the 
United States." But without flattery to that people, experience 
teaches us that it is not their example that is capable of imitation, 
even by the most enlightened nations of Europe, that it is not only 
owing to the vast amalgamation of persons from the most distant climes, 
but of all circumstances, together, conspiring in one firm band at 
union to make a Model Nation, vast in its resources of all vastness ] it 
is to no one quality or characteristic of its climate, soil, productions, 
or its people, but the combination of the whole ; all are equally in- 
debted to each, and each to all. The energies of the people are as 
much the cause of its resources, as the resources are the causes of the 
energies ; therefore, there can be no analogy in its antithesis, as Japan 
and the Japanese must evidently be ; so taking that question as set- 
tled, that no amicable arrangements can be made, or if made, kept, 
even for the slightest compact, therefore it is right to infer that all 
such considerations and what they naturally lead to have been well 
and deeply investigated by the povrers, organizing the Expedition, and 
that after duly examining their chances of success they will imme- 
diately after receiving the answer of the Emperor, (if he deigns one), 
proceed to the Island of Formosa — from the condition of which, it is 
most probable would be ceded by its inhabitants without a struggle 
or a shot, after which no prophetic Zadkiel need foreteU the results. 

TALBOT WATTS, M. D. 

424 Greenwich St. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 



Japan, or the Japan Islands, are but one hundred and fifty 
miles east from China. They are situated in a most desirable 
climate, and are blessed with a fruitful soil, which produces the 
same sort of grain and fruits as China. They are most remarka- 
ble for the plenty of gold-dust to be met with here, and their 
Japan cabinets, or lacquered ware and screens. They traffic only 
with the Chinese and the Dutch. All other Christians, but the 
Dutch, have been excluded from a share in this trade ever since 
the year 1630. The Portuguese had, till then, the chief trade to 
Japan, and had, as they state, converted a great part of the na- 
tion to Christianity ; but being charged with a conspiracy to usurp 
the government, upon the Pope's supremacy, they and their nume- 
rous Christian proselytes were massacred or banished the Islands ; 
and the Dutch were only suffered to trade thither, on their de- 
claring they were no Christians, or, perhaps, on the merit of 
supplanting and assisting in expelling the Portuguese ; for it is 
impossible that the Japanese can be ignorant that the Dutch pro- 
fess Christianity, as they trade to China ; and we find the Japa- 
nese use as much caution in their commerce with the Dutch, as if 
they were really Christians. 

At the season the Dutch fleet is expected, the Grovernor of 
Nangascke places sentinels on the hills, to give notice of the ap- 
proach of any ships. When they appear, a boat is sent off to 
every ship with a waiter or officer ; and as soon as the ships come 
to an anchor, an express is immediately dispatched to court, be- 
fore whose return the Dutch are not to dispose of anything. 

In the meantime the particulars of every ship's cargo are taken, 
with the name, age, stature, and office of every man on board, 
which is translated and printed in the Japanese language. When 



6 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

the express is returned, the ship's crew are permitted to come on 
shore, and are all mustered before a Japanese commissary. Every 
person is called over aloud, and required to give an accoimt of 
his age, quality, and office, to see if it agrees with the particulars 
given in by the Dutch. After this examination they are sent on 
board again ; and the sails of the ship, with the guns, arms, am- 
munition, and helm, are brought on shore, and the hatches sealed 
down by a Japanese officer ; nor can they be opened, whatever 
the ship's crew wiint, without permission from the governor, who 
always sends a person to see what is taken out, and seal them down 
again ; nor dare the Dutch sailors light a candle, or make any 
noise on board their ships, any more than on shore. The ships 
are allowed no communication with one another ; nor is any officer 
or sailor suifered to go on shore, except the persons who are ap- 
pointed to carry the company's present to the King of Yeddo. His 
Majesty having accepted the present, and prepared another for the 
company, the Dutch officer is conveyed to Nangascke under a 
strong guard. This journey, and the transaction of their mer- 
cantile affairs, usually take up about three months and a half. 
The Dutch, who attend the king on this occasion, approach him on 
their knees, with their hands joined together, and carried to their 
foreheads. The Japanese governors and ministers always ap- 
proach him in the same manner. 

While the Dutch ships lie in the road, none of the Japanese are 
allowed to go on board to trade with the sailors ; and those that 
carry provisions on board, are not suffered to take any money for 
them, till the permission to trade comes from court, and then they 
deliver in their accounts, and are paid. After this the Japanese 
permit sis persons from every vessel to come on shore, and buy 
and sell for themselves, and stay four days, either in Disnia or in 
the city, as they see fit. When these six men return on board, 
six others are allowed to go on shore, and traffic in like manner, 
and so on. 

The goods are generally paid for in bullion, or pieces of silver 
of ten or five crowns value, or smaller pieces, by weight ; for they 
have no coin, except little pieces of copper. 

After sis weeks free trade, there is no further communication 
allowed between the city of Nangascke and the Dutch, in the 
Island of Disnia or with the shipping ; whereupon the fleet pre- 
pares to return, and the factors in Disnia are confined to theh lit- 
tle island again, till the season of the year for traffic retui-ns. 

The Island which we call Japan, but which the inhabitants 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 7 

call Nippen, is divided into ^ix great provinces, which are sub- 
divided into several lesser ones, governed by lords or princes, who 
are all subject to the Emperor. Some of these lords are rich in 
corn and cattle, others in mines, such as gold, silver, copper, tin, 
quick-silver, iron, &c. ; others are wealthy in woods, flax, cotton 
or silk ; all which are well known to the Emperor by the secret 
information sent him by those Secretaries whom he places among 
them to manage their affairs ; for he recommends to every one of 
them a secretary, with a letter to this effect : — " Well-beloved, I 
know you have many vassals and servants, and that the occasions 
wherein you are to employ them are very great ; therefore I send 
you a person, whose assistance may in some measure ease you of 
the burthen which lies upon you, and of whose fidelity you may be 
assured, inasmuch as I commend him to you, as one who hath been 
brought up at my own house : make use of him, and take in good 
part the care I have of your person and affairs." 

These secretaries, for the most part, are such as have served the 
Emperor in their youth, in his three chambers, and of whose abilities, 
prudence and judgment, he is satisfied, assuringhimself of their fidel- 
ity, besides the expressions he might find thereof during the time 
of their service, by an act signed with their blood. The Empe- 
ror, through these secretaries, becomes acquainted with everything 
done in the Provinces, as they keep an exact journal of whatever 
they observe in the life and actions of princes to whom they are 
sent, and who undertake nothing without their advice, nor do any 
business in which they are not consulted. This gives them great 
authority in the provinces, and makes the princes themselves 
look on them as such, whose favor they stand in need of, to 
keep a fair correspondence with the Court. On the other hand, 
these princes are glad to have able and understanding persons 
about them, such as may observe the miscarriages of their govern- 
ment, and have the confidence to be their remembrancers thereof ; 
choosing rather that a faithful servant should acquaint them 
therewith, so that they may be seasonably reformed, than that 
they should become the discourse of the people, or any should 
take occasion thence to do them ill ofiices about the Emperor. 

The death of their great lords is commonly attended by the 
voluntar}'- execution of twenty or thirty vassals or slaves, who rip up 
their bellies and die with their masters. These are obliged to do 
this by an oath, and it is done partly by way of acknowledgment 
of the particular kindness which their lords had for them. Having 
acquainted theu' lord that they are wUling to be obliged to sacri- 



8 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESfE. 

fice themselves in that manner when occasion shall require, they 
entertain him with a short diseom'se to this purpose : — " Most 
mighty sir, you have many other slaves and servants, of whose af- 
fection and fidelity you are assured ; who am I, or what have I 
deserved, that you should honor me with your favor ahove any 
of the rest ? I resign up this life to you, which is already yours, 
and proriiise you I will keep it no longer than it shall he service- 
able to yours." Then the lord and the vassal take off, each of 
them, a bowl of wine, which is the most religious ceremony ob- 
served among them to confirm their oaths, which thereby become 
inviolable. 

To do this execution upon themselves, after the death of their 
lord, they get together all the nearest of their kindred, who con- 
duct them to the Mesquite, or Pagode, where they all sit down upon 
mats and garments, with which they cover the floor ; and 
having spent some time in making good cheer, they rip up their 
bellies, cutting them across, so that all the entrails come out ; 
and if that does not dispatch them, they thrust a knife themselves 
into the throat, and so complete the execution. Nay, there are 
some, who, on hearing that their master intends to build some 
edifice, either for himself or the Emperor, will desire him to do 
them the honor, that they may be laid under the foundations, 
which they think are made immovable by that voluntary sacrifice ; 
and if their request be granted, they cheerfully lay themselves 
down at the foundation, having great stones cast upon them, 
which soon put them out of all pain. 

There is no lord, nor indeed any citizen or merchant, but may 
put his vassals and domestics to death, and that by way of justice, 
he himself being the judge ; but to others justice is administered, 
all over the country, in the Emperor's name. Gentlemen and 
soldiers have the privilege to be their own executioners, and to rip 
up their bellies themselves ; but others are compelled to receive their 
death from the hands of the common executioner. They allege, . 
as a reason for this proceeding, that merchants are, in some 
respects, infamous, inasmuch as they are liars, for the most part, 
and deceive those that trust them. Tradesmen they slight, 
as being only but public servants ; and the peasantry is contempti- 
ble, by reason of the wretched condition they live in, which is 
little better than that of slaves. Only the gentlemen and soldiers 
are respected, and live at the charge and upon the labor of others. 

There is no off"ence, though ever so small, but is punished with 
death ; but especially theft, though it were but for a penny. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 9 

Graming, if it be for money, which depends upon chance, or requires 
skill, is considered a capital offence. He who kills another, though, 
innocently, and in his own defence, is to die without mercy; 
with this difference, that those who kill in their own defence, 
as also those who commit such faults or offences as would not 
here be punished with death, die only themselves ; but other of- 
fenders involve all their kindred in their misfortune ; so that for 
the crime of one single person, the father, brethren, or children, 
are put to death, the wives and daughters are made slaves, and the 
estate of the whole family is confiscated. x\nd this happens so 
frequently, that there are commissioners expressly appointed for 
the administration of what is so confiscated ; yet does not the 
money thus raised go to the King, but is employed in the build- 
ing of Pagodes, and the repairing of highways and bridges. 

The torture thieves are put to, for want of evidence, makes 
rather the unfortunate than the guilty to be condemned. They 
take a piece of iron, about a finger thick and a foot square, and 
make it red hot ; and as soon as the redness is gone, and the iron 
returned to its own color, they put it to the hands of the party ac- 
cused, upon two sheets of paper, which immediately flame, and if 
the accused person can cast the piece of iron upon a little hurdle 
standing near him, without burning himself, he is dismissed ; but 
if his hands are even touched by the fire, he is sentenced to 
die. This crime is punished with a particular kind of death. 
The criminal is tied with a straw-rope, by the neck, to a great 
cane, across which they put two other canes, to which they fasten 
the feet and the hands, and then the executioner runs him through 
with a pike, from the right side up to the left shoulder, and from 
the left side to the right shoulder ; so that being twice run through 
the heart, he is soon dispatched. Sometimes they only fasten the 
malefactor with his back to a post, and make him stretch forth his 
hands, which are held out by two men ; and then the executioner, 
standing behind him, runs the pike in at the neck, and so into the 
heart, and dispatches him in a moment. 

The lords have such an absolute power over their menial ser- 
vants, that it requires but a pretence to put them to death. The 
gentlemen and soldiers are, for the most part, very poor, and live 
miserably ; but being highly conceited of themselves, most of 
them keep servants, though only to carry their shoes after them, 
which are indeed but a pair of soles, made of straw or rushes, 
having a hole towards the toe, which keeps them on their feet. 

The crimes for which all of the family or kindred are put to 



10 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

deatli, are extortion, coining, setting houses on fire, ravishing of 
women, premeditated murder, &c. If a man's wife be guilty of 
any crime her husband is convicted of, she dies with him ; but if 
she be innocent, she is made a slave. Their punishments bear no 
proportion to the crimes committed ; but are so cruel that it is 
not easy to express the barbarity exhibited. To consume with 
a gentle fire, or only with a candle, to crucify with the head 
downwards, to boil men in seething oil or water, to quarter and 
draw them with four horses, are very ordinary punishments among 
them. 

One who had undertaken to find timber and stones for the build- 
ing of a palace for the Emperor, and had corrupted the officers 
appointed by him to receive and register what he should send in, 
was crucified with his head downwards. He had the reputation 
of being an honest man, and was one that had frequently obliged 
several persons of quality ; insomuch that some resolved to petition 
the Emperor for his pardon, though these intercessions for con- 
demned persons are in some sort criminal ; and indeed the Empe- 
ror took it so ill, that the lords who presented their petition for 
him, received no other answer but the reproaches he made to them 
for their imprudence. The officers who had been corrupted by 
him, were condemned to rip up their bellies. 

The following instance shows to what a degree the Japanese 
punish all the members of a family for the fault of one : — In the 
year 1638, a gentleman on whom the King had bestowed the 
government of a little province, near Jeddo, so oppressed the 
country people, that they were forced to make their complaints 
thereof to the Court ; where it was ordered that the said gentle- 
man and all his relations should have their belhes ripped up on the 
same day, and as near as might be at the same hour. He had a 
brother who lived two hundred and forty-seven leagues from Jeddo, 
in the service of the King of Fingo ; an uncle who lived in Satsu- 
ma, twenty leagues further ; a son who served the King of Kino- 
cuni ; a grandson who served the King of Massamme, a hundred 
and ten leagues from Jeddo ; and at three hundred and eighty 
leagues from Satsuma, another son who served the Governor of 
the Castle of Quanto ; two brothers who were of the regiment of 
the Emperor's guards ; and another son who had married the only 
daughter of a rich merchant near Jeddo ; yet were all these per- 
sons to be executed precisely at the same hour. To do that they 
determined the time requisite to send the order to the farthest 
place ; and having appointed the day for the execution there, 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 11 

orders were sent to tlie princes of all the places mentioned, that 
they should all be put to death on the same day, just at noon, 
which was punctually done. The merchant who had bestowed his 
daughter on that gentleman's son, died of grief, and the widow 
starved herself. 

Lying is punished among them with death, especially that which 
is told in a Court of Judicature. Princes and great lords are or- 
dinarily punished more cruelly than if they were put to death ; for 
they are banished into a little island named Faitsensima, fourteen 
leagues from the Province of Jeddo, and is nearly a league in cir- 
cumference. It has neither road nor haven ; and it is so steep 
all about, that no doubt it was with the greatest danger imaginable 
that the first who got up to it made a desperate effort to do it. 
Those who first attempted it, found means to fasten great poles in 
certain places, to which they have tied ropes ; and with these they 
draw up those that are sent thither, and make fast the boats which 
otherwise would split against the rocks by the first wind. , 

Nothing but a few mulberry trees grow on the Island, so that 
they are obliged to send in provisions for the subsistence of the 
prisoners. They are supplied every month, as is also the garrison 
kept there ; but they are dieted very sparingly, being allowed 
only a little rice, some roots, and other wretched fare ; they hardly 
afford them a lodging over their heads ; and with all these mise- 
ries they are obliged to keep a certain number of silk-worms, and 
to make a certain quantity of stuflfs every year. 

They who speak of the Sovereign Prince of all Japan, give him 
the quality of Emperor, inasmuch as all the other lords of the 
country on whom they bestow the title of King, depend on him and 
obey him, not only as vassals, but as subjects, since it is in his 
power to condemn them to death, to deprive them of their digni- 
ties, to dispossess them of their territories, and to banish or send 
them to some island, for very trifling offences. 

The Castle of Jeddo, the palace of the Emperor's ordinary resi- 
dence, is nearly two leagues in circumference, fortified with 
three walls, and as many moats, very deep, and is built of free- 
stone, but so irregular that it is impossible to assign it any certain 
figure. Within less than three hundred paces a man must pass 
through eight or nine gates, not one of them standing opposite to 
each other ; for, coming within the first he must turn on the right 
hand to go to the second ; and having come within that, he turns on 
the left hand to go to the third, and so on, alternately, till he comes 
to the last. Just within this gate there is a magazine of arms for three 



32 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

or four thousand men, on wLich jet out all the streets, ■which are 
fair and broad, having on both sides many magnificent palaces. The 
gates are secured with large iron bars ; and over every gate there 
is a house wherein two or three hundred soldiers may be lodged. 
^>' The Emperor's palace stands in the middle of the Castle, and has 
belonging to it many apartments, halls, chambers, closets, galleries^ 
gardens, orchards, groves, ponds, rivers, fountains, courts, &c., and 
several particular houses for his wives and concubines. The ceil- 
ings of the halls and chambers are plated with gold and silver, 
curiously raised and worked, and enriched with a variety of precious 
stones. The hangings are of the richest silk, flowered with silver 
and gold, pearl, and other embellishments. In the hall of audience, 
where the Emperor receives homage or ambassadors, there is a 
throne of massy gold, beset with large gems of inestimable value. 
The roof, being lofty, is also plated with gold, richly enamelled 
with curious figures and landscapes, and supported by stately gilded 
columns. The gardens behind the apartments are laid out in 
elegant taste, and are most agreeably diversified and adorned 
with terraces, canals, fish-ponds, water-works, and other ornaments. 

As you come out of the palace, you go into that quarter 
where the Princes of the blood and Counselors of State live, and 
thence into another quarter where are the palaces of the Kings 
and great Lords of Japan, which are gilded both within and with- 
out ; they are the more sumptuously built on the account that there 
is a certain emulation amongst them, who shall be at the great- 
est expense to please the Emperor. In the next quarter to this 
there live other princes and lords, who are not so powerful as 
■ the former, yet have their palaces gilded and so richly furnished, 
that a man would think at his first coming in, he met with moun- 
tains of gold. In this quarter there live some of the wives of 
the eldest sons of those princes whom the Emperor hath brought 
up in the sight of the court, as so many hostages of their fathers' 
fidelity ; so that this Castle, though as large as a considerable 
city, yet is so full of people that the streets can hardly con- 
tain them. ' 

When the Emperor goes out of his palace, be either goes on 
horseback or is carried in a Palanquin, open on all sides, and 
is accompanied by a great number of lords, who are called the 
Emperor's Camarades. These lords are of great quality, and very 
rich, yet they do not think it a dishonor to apply themselves to 
such things as are either necessary or delightful. Some are skilled 
in music, some in physic ; some are excellent at writing or paint- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 13 

ing ; others study eloquence and the management of affah'S. Next 
to them goes a part of the guard consisting of persons selected 
from among the children of younger brothers, cousins, or kinsmen 
of great lords, among whom there are also some natural children 
of such as either actually are in employments, or may, upon pre- 
sumption of their birth, pretend thereto. Then follow the ordina- 
ry guard, commanded by their colonels and other officers, so dis- 
posed of that two or three thousand march before the Emperor 
and as many after him. Among so many soldiers, there is not 
one but some trial has been made of his courage, nor any that has 
not gone through all the necessary exercises, in order to be fit for 
such a kind of life, and- whose countenance and demeanor are not 
answerable to the employment they are engaged in. They leave 
a space between them and the Emperor for a great number of 
other great lords, who are about the Emperor's person, who must 
needs make an uncommon show among five or six hundred men, 
all clad in black, some on horseback, some on foot, all marching 
with such gravity and so orderly that there is not one man to be 
seen out of his rank, nor a word spoken, that can be heard. The 
streets are swept and strewed with sand or gravel, and the doors 
of all the houses kept standing open ; yet there is not a person to 
be seen either in the shops or at the windows. Should any per- 
sons be seen in the streets or elsewhere, the guard makes them 
kneel while the Emperor is passing by. 

Once every five years the Emperor goes to Meaco. A whole 
year is spent in making all things ready for that journey. From 
the city of Jeddo to that of Meaco, the distance is one hundred 
and twenty-five leagues, and within every three or four leagues 
there is a considerable city, able to lodge the whole court. The 
Emperor has caused to be built between those two places, at an 
equal distance one from the other, twenty-eight fair houses, of which 
there are twenty great castles, and in every house there is a retinue, 
and all things else stiitable to a king's court, as gentlemen, guards 
officers, servants and horses, with provisions necessary for the sub- 
sistence of the whole train. They who go with the Emperor 
,, from the city of Jeddo, leave him to the care of those whom they 
: find in the first house ; these accompany and conduct him to the 
V second, and so on, from one to another, till he comes to the city of 
"Meaco. In his return he observes the same order, being attend- 
ed from one house to another, till he comes to Jeddo. 

The Emperors of Japan build many of these castles, and have 
them finished in so short a time, that they will have a striT^' •»~e 



14 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

completed in sis months, which in Europe would take as many 
years. We have an instance of it in the castle which the Emperor 
had built in the year 1636, in the province of Nicko, four daj's' 
journey fro7Ti the city of Jeddo. It is fortified with a double moat 
and a double rampier, and both of free-stone ; and it is so spacious, 
and consists of so many particular palaces, for the grandees of the 
court, and so many apartments, gardens and fountains for the 
Emperor himself, that the best architect in Europe would not have 
finished it in several years ; yet this great building was completed 
in less than five months — many masons, carpenters, joiners, stone- 
cutters, gilders, painters, &c., being employed about it. 

The Emperor's treasures are so great, that it is impossible to 
give anything near an exact account of it, inasmuch as the gold 
and silver is locked up in chests and deposited in the towers of the 
castle, besides what is in several places up and down the country, 
where it increases almost to infinity, since the revenue of two 
months will defray the charges of a whole year's expense. 

It is no hard matter for the Emperor of Japan to raise and keep 
an army on foot, as all his subjects are obliged to bring in and 
maintain a certain number of soldiers, proportionably to their re- 
venue. He who has a thousand kodicns, or four thousand crowns 
per annmn, is obliged to maintain twenty foot and two horse- 
men. According to this account, the Lord of Firando, (where 
the Datcli made their first establishment), who has sixty thou- 
sand kockieus of yearly revenue, was taxed at twelve hundred 
foot and one hundred and twenty horse, besides the servants, 
slaves, and whatever else is consequent thereto. By this means, 
according to the revenues of the lords, which amount to eighteen 
millions and four hundred thousand kockiens, the Emperor of 
Japan can raise an army of three hundred and sixty-eight thou- 
sand foot, and thirty-eight thousand and eight hundred horse, not 
counting the hundred thousand foot and twenty thousand horse, 
which he is able to maintain out of his own revenue, and which 
he keeps as a standing army for the defence of his castles and 
strong places, and for his guards. 

jMost of these lords find it no great trouble to make their levies, 
for there are few of them but ordinarilj i^iaintain twice as many 
soldiers, out of a humor they have to make great shows, especially 
upon those occasions wherein they expect to exhibit some marks of 
their courage, or the zeal they have for the service of their priuee. 

Their cavalry is armed with corselets, but the foot have only 
head-pieces. The olFensive arms of the horse are a sort of fire- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. . 15 

locTjs, not mucli longer than our pistols, lialf-pikes, bows, arrows 
and ciraeters. The foot wear two cimeters, and have muskets, 
pikes, and nanganets, or half-pikes, and every man has about 
him a very broad knife. Their companies consist only of fifty 
soldiers, who are commanded by a captain, a lieutenant, and ten 
corporals, to wit : a corporal for every five soldiers. Five com- 
panies make a body, which is commanded by another officer, and 
every fifty companies have their colonel. 

The Emperor of Japan takes the following course to know every 
year how many persons there are in his kingdom : — Every quarter 
of a city or village is divided into cantons, consisting of five houses, 
which are commanded by a certain officer, who keeps a register or 
catalogue of all those who die or are born within the five houses 
under his jurisdiction, and reports the same to his superiors, who 
give an account thereof to the prince or lord of the province ; and 
these last to two Counselors of State, who are appointed for that 
purpose. 

The Council of State consists of several lords, who have each of 
them his particular function, excepting only the four chiefest, who 
are every day punctually at court to give the Emperor an account 
of afitiirs. AH the rest are so powerful and rich, that some among 
them have above two millions of yearly revenue, others three or 
four hundred thousand crowns, others but forty or fifty thousand. 
They are very reserved in the advice they give the Emperor, to 
whom they speak not, even of affairs, if they find him not in a 
good humor to hear them. But none will presume to speak to 
him twice of the same thing, or renew his entreaties after a refu- 
sal. This Council consists of such lords as the Emperor, may be 
the more confident of, as they have commonly received their educa- 
tion at court. These have the management of all public affairs ; 
but with such dependence on the sovereign's pleasure, that they 
never resolve on anything of themselves, nor speak to the Emperor 
till he gives them some occasion to do it, having first consulted his 
eyes and observed his countenance to find what his sentiments 
are. They always approve what he says, though ever so pre- 
judicial ta himself, even to the loss of a whole province ; for 
the least contradiction of him would cost them their fortune;^, 
if not their lives. 

The revenues of the lords are very great, and so are their 
expenses ; for there is not one of them but is obliged to live one 
half of the year at court, and during that time to keep house in 
the chief city of JeddOj where he who lives at the highest rate is 



16 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

most in f\xvor with tbe Emperor. The first six months in the 
year, those lords who have their principalities and lordships in the 
eastern and northern provinces of the kingdom, continue at the 
com-t ; and the other six months live in the western and southern 
provinces. At their coming to the court, and departing there- 
from, they make very considerable presents to the Emperor, and 
great entertainments among themselves. Their journies and theii 
expenses at court, whither some lords "bring a retinue of fiye oi 
six thousand persons, lie very heavy on the richest, and ruin 
the rest. 

Provisions are dear enough in Japan, but at an excessive rate 
about the court, by reason of the abundance consumed by so great 
a number of persons of quality. Another way to exhaust their 
estates, is their mngnificence in building. Most of their domestics 
go in silk, especially their women, and those of their own sex that 
wait on them ; so that there is hardly any lord but spends more 
than his revenue amounts to. But what helps to ruin them is the 
order they receive from the Emperor to supply him now and then 
with men and money to carry on the public buildings, which he 
does rather to drain the purses of these lords, than out of any 
necessity obliging him to do so. 

The principal lords, when they build a palace, do ordinarily 
make two gates thereto, one for their own use, and the other for 
the Emperor's passage into it. The latter is much larger than the 
former, and made of joiner's work, excellently varnished, carved 
into branch-work, and gilded. As soon as it is finished, it is co- 
vered with boards, to prevent its being injured by the weather, 
and is not uncovered till near the time the Emperor intends to 
honor the house with his presence to dine there ; and as soon as 
he has departed therefrom it is shut up and so kept ever after, 
because that, having served for a passage for the Emperor's sacred 
person, it is reckoned a profimation if any private person should 
pass through it after him. ' It is also to be observed that the Em- 
peror never dines more than once in any Ipuse belonging to another 
man. It requires three whole years to make all things ready for his 
entertainment. Accordingly he has notice of it three years before, 
and in the meantime all the furniture of the house is made and 
marked, also all the plate, with the arms and characters of the 
Emperor ; and after that time they are never more used, but kept 
very safe, after they have once served the Emperor's person ; 
so that this expense, and that which they are at in the entertain- 
ment which the master of the house is obliged to make for i/h.e 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 17 

wiiole court, for three months together, is enough to beggar an 
ordinary king. 

Another thing which lies heavy on these lords, is the presents 
which the Emperor makes them ; for upon his return from hunting 
the Crane, a bird, there very highly esteemed, he sends some of 
those he has taken to his favorites. But this present costs the per- 
son who receives it, at least half a year's revenue in feasts, pre- 
sents, and other public entertainments, which he is obliged to 
make in acknowledgment of the favor done him by the Emperor, 
in sending him a bird, taken by a hawk, sent off from his sacred 
hands. 

On a certain time the Lord of Zatiuma entertained the Emperor 
with a dinner in a palace which was then but newly finished ; and 
he got well rewarded for the expense he had been at, for the Em- 
peror made him a present for his horses, (for so they call the 
gratifications he makes his favorites), by an addition to his former 
revenue of two hundred and fifty thousand crowns per annum. 

The grandees never select their own wives but receive them 
from the Emperor's hands ; and it is of her alone who is given by 
him, that the children are to be born who are to inherit their 
estates. Accordingly, they look on her and respect her as the per- 
son from whom they expect heirs for the propagation of their fa- 
mily, and upon that account are recommended to them by the Em- 
peror. He who expects to have this honor done him, builds a 
palace purposely for her reception, furnishes it very richly, and 
allows her a retinue, consisting of a great number of women and 
maids, to accompany her and wait on her. 

Women go abroad but once a year, to give their relations a 
visit, and then they are seen in the streets with a retinue of thirty, 
forty, or fifty close palanquins, wherein are carried as many maids 
of honor, each of them accompanied by their waiting gentlewomen, 
and other women, marching in a file on both sides of the palan- 
quins, which are varnished over and gilded. All the remainder 
of the year the women stir not out of their houses, into which 
there are not any men permitted to enter, save only some of the 
wives' nearest relations, who sometimes have permission to see 
them in presence of their husbands. It is the husband's business 
to make the restraint as little burthensome as possible to them, by 
allowing them all the diversions and recreations which honest wo- 
men can take — providing them gardens and parks for walking, ponds 
for fishing, keeping all sorts of living creatures for their pleasure, 
and entertaining them every day with music and plays. But they 



18 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

must dlpect to end their days in this restraint, and renounce tte 
conversation of men, inasmuch as the least suspicion is unpardon- 
able, and punished with death, as any other manifest crime ; not 
only in the person of the lady, but also in all about her. Their 
attendants are commonly some of the handsomest young women in 
the province, who always stand before their master and mistress 
with such respect, that they study to answer, laugh, and hold then* 
peace, upon the least sign made them. They are generally divided 
into bands or companies consisting of sixteen women, who have 
each a governess over them. They are clothed in silk, flowered, 
painted, or embroidered, of different colors or liveries. One band 
is in a red livery, with girdles and head-clothes of a green 
color ; another, white, with girdles and head-clothes red ; another, 
yellow, with girdles and head-clothes of a sky color, and so of the 
rest. Most of the women who are received into the service of these 
princesses at fifteen or twenty years of age, engage themselves for 
the remainder of their lives ; but such as are taken into the 
service while they are yet children, are sometimes afterwards mar- 
ried to gentlemen, soldiers, or others of the menial servants, who 
have some office about the house, and whose allowances are upon 
that account augmented. But such as are not married at thirty, 
must not expect to change their condition otherwise than by being 
advanced to some more honorable employment among the women. 
It is the custom of the country, that women should be instructed 
betimes not to meddle with any kind of business whatever, in- 
somuch that they never speak of any such thing to their husbands. 
These, on the other side, make it their boast that they are endued 
with such a strength of parts and understanding, as to leave all se- 
rious thoughts behind them at their own lodgings, when they 
leave them to go into the apartment of their wives, -^there theii 
discourse is altogether of mirth and diversion. If a woman 
should trouble her husband with the least discourse about business, 
she would immediately put him out of humor, make him change 
his countenance, and oblige him to retire, without so much as 
speaking to her. But this she will be sure to avoid, though out of 
no more motive than this, that another might not have those enjoy- 
ments of him which she, by her imprudence, would deprive herself 
of; for they affirm, that a woman is bestowed on man merely to 
serve and divert him, and to mind the education of his children ; 
and that herein consists all her duty, and that there are but too 
many examples of the mischiefs happening through the excessive 
freedom heretofore allowed to women. The wives in Japan have 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 19 

the reputation of being extremely faithful to their husbands, 
and so modest and reserved that none anywhere else come near 
them. 

The King or Prince of the Province of Fingo, hearing that a 
gentleman of the country had a very handsome woman for his 
wife, had him dispatched out of the way ; and having sent for the 
widow some days after her husband's death, acquainted her with 
his desires. She told him, that though she had much reason to be 
glad, and think herself happy in being honored with the friendship 
of so great a prince, yet she was resolved to bite oif her tongue, 
and murder herself, if he oifered her any violence ; but if he would 
grant her one favor, viz : to spend one month in bewailing her hus- 
band, and then give her the liberty to make an entertainment for 
the relations of the deceased, to take her leave of them, he should 
find how much she was his servant, and how far she would comply 
with his wishes. The prince made no objections to do what she 
desired ; and having provided a very great dinner at the place 
designated by her, all the kindred of the deceased attended, but 
it was only tq_ be witnesses of the fidelity which she expressed for 
her husband after his death ; for, perceiving the king had become 
excited by the wine which he had drank, and fondly indulging the 
hope that he was soon to enjoy what had been promised him, she 
requested the privilege of withdrawing into an adjoining gallery to 
take the air ; but, as soon as she reached it, she committed sui- 
cide by casting herself " head-long down" in the presence of the 
king and her husband's relations ! 

The Japanese are generally reserved in their conversation. 
They are seldom guilty of any obscene or impertinent expres- 
sions, and will not so much as talk of marriage, or anything re- 
lating thereto, in the presence of young people. The children 
have a great tenderness and respect for their parents — being per- 
suaded there is no sin more severely punished by the gods, than 
the disobedience of children. They have also a great veneration 
for the memory of their parents after their decease ; for they reli- 
giously observe those days of the month on which their parents de- 
parted this world, as fasting days, abstaining from whatever hath 
had life. 

' As the Japanese are very severe in restraining their wives and 
concubines of even the least liberty, so are they excessively cruel 
in punishing those who -are not careful to preserve their honors, or 
give the least suspicion of tlieir inclinations to be dishonest. Once 
the Lord of Firando caused three women to be put into so many 



20 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

chests, through which there were nails struck in on all sides ; one 
for having prostituted herself to a man, who ripped up his own 
belly as soon as their familiarity was discovered, and the other 
two, because they had been privy to their love, and had not ac- 
quainted the lord therewith. 

There are in Japan an incredible number of Pagods or Mes 
quites, some of which have fifteen or twenty Priests belonging to 
them. They are distinguished from the Laicks by having their 
heads shaved, and also by being clothed in a kind of cassock, made 
like the frocks worn by many country people ; but upon holidays 
they substitute a sort of long garments, which they fold up under 
the left arm like a cloak. Their principal employment is to pray 
before their gods, and to bury their dead, or at least the ashes of 
such bodies as have been burnt. They are divided into several 
sects, and consequently have as many different ways of paying their 
devotions, especially on the anniversary days of the deceased, which 
they call Bom^ on which the priests are employed in praying and 
singing litanies, and making processions round a chapel set about 
with wax lights, much after the same manner as is done in some 
parts of Europe. Their sepulchres are near their pagodes, covered 
with great stones, two or three feet high, on which they go to pay 
their devotions and cast flowers or branches of trees, and put into 
a little pit made in the ground, some fair water and a little rice, 
which is taken away from thence by the poor. Persons of quality 
erect a little pillar near their sepulchres, and engrave thereon their 
^names, with a certain elegy which serves for an epitaph. 

Their Ecclesiastics are divided into twelve principal sects, of 
which eleven eat not of anything that has had life, and make 
a vow of chastity, with an obligation for the strict observance 
thereof, that if they break it, though in never so small a point, 
they are put to the most cruel death imaginable ; for the priest 
who has broken his vow is put into the ground up to t^he middle 
of his body, near the highway, and all that pass by, who are not 
nobly descended, are obliged to give a slight stroke upon his neck 
with a wooden saw, which being very blunt makes the wretch 
languish three or four days altogether, before he dies. 

The priests of the twelfth sect are not thus restricted — as it is 
lawful for them to feed on anything that earth or water affords, 
and also to marry ; and yet this sect, which they call Icko^ whence 
the priests whereof it consists, are named Ickois^ is considered the 
holiest and most perfect of them all. He who is head of this 
sect is also supreme head of all the clergy of the country, and is 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 21 

in SO great yeneration among his followers, that they do not only 
carry him in a palanquin, but indeed do him such honors as are 
almost divine. All the priests depend on the Dayro^ who still has 
the same power over the ecclesiastics as he had heretofore, jointly, 
with the secular power. Only such Pagods as belong to these 
last have a settled revenue, and enjoy many privileges and im- 
munities granted them by the Emperors. All the other Pagods 
are maintained by what is given them, either by way of alms or 
the gratification that they get from those who employ them about 
prayers for the dead, wherein the main part of the exercise of 
their religion consists. 

Some among them believe that the soul is immortal ; that the 
body is reduced to its first principle, and becomes dust and ashes; 
that the spirit is either raised to eternal joy, or condemned to 
an endless grief; and that at its return into this world, it shall 
find good or evil, according to what it had done during this life. 
Others make no distinction between the souls of men and those of 
beasts ; and as they have no knowledge of the creation of the 
world, so are they ignorant that there is a time appointed for its 
dissolution. 

Most of their houses are built of wood, slightly enough, as the 
country is very much subject to earthquakes. They are all raised 
three or four feet from the ground, boarded and matted, and very 
handsome within, especially those rooms in which they receive visi- 
tors. They are, for the most part, but one story high, in which 
they live, and the rest serve for corn-lofts. They have places dis- 
tinct from their houses, where they keep their merchandizes and 
whatever else they most esteem. Their houses are so apt to take 
fire, that they are compelled for self-preservation, to have vats full 
of water, always ready against such accidents. 

The houses of gentlemen and soldiers are divided into two par- 
titions—one is taken up by the wife, who is never seen, and the 
other by the husband, who has his chambers and halls for the 
reception of his friends and his business. The wives of citizens 
and merchants appear in the shops, and have a care of the house ; 
but they are treated with so much respect that none durst let fall 
a free or equivocal expression in their presence ; nay, a licentious 
one is considered criminal. Instead of tapestry, they have a kind 
of scenes or shutters, which serve them also for pictures, with 
which they cover the closures with paper, painted and gilded, and 
so neatly pasted on, that the whole piece seems to consist but of 
one sheet. These shutters are made of very thin boards, and ^ 



22 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

one into another, so that two or three small chambers can in a few 
moments make a very fine hall. All these little rooms make a 
kind of gallery, which serves equally for both the apartments 
of the husband and wife, and leads to a common door to go into 
the garden, which door is ordinarily opposite to the hall win- 
dows. In the midst of the room there usually stands a cabinet, 
on which they set a pot of flowers, which are there to be had 
during the whole year. They are very curious about their gar- 
dens, and make them as pleasant as may be, with groves, fountains, 
orchards, and especially one kind of tree, which is as green in 
winter as in summer. 

There is not much household stuff to be seen in their houses, as 
they bestow on their wives the trunks and cabinets of lacque, their 
rich tapestry, and the like, or they store them into some private 
rooms, into which they admit only their most intimate friends. 

They are civil, and entertain such as visit them with great com- 
pliments. Persons of quality desire those who come to see them 
to be seated, presenting them with tobacco and tsia. If the master 
of the house has a particular esteem for the friend who visits him, 
he will treat him with wine, which is brought in a varnished cup ; 
and it is considered impoliteness in him to whom this honor is 
done, to refuse it. They are not so reserved but that sometimes 
they will take a little more than they are well able to carry away ; 
but seldom to that height as to quarrel or to do aught whereof they 
may repent the next day ; for the perpetual apprehension they 
have of the unavoidable death that would follow, keeps them in 
fear. 

In cities and upon the highways there are inns for the entertain- 
ment of travelers and passengers, but besides these there is not a 
tippling-house or cook-shop in all Japan ; for though they are 
great lovers of good cheer and company-keeping, yet they have 
not any public places for that purpose, but they meet at one an- 
other's houses, and there spend the time in good fellowship and 
drinking, and have a kind of music, which is not very harmonious. 
They have but few musical instruments, and that most used among 
them and which they are most taken with, is a kind of lute, the 
belly of which is above a foot square, with a long and narrow neck, 
being made only for four strings which are usually of silk, and 
struck with a peg of ivory about the size of a man's finger. They 
sing to it, but the voice is as unharmonious as the sound of the in 
gtrument. 

Then- wine is made of rice. After putting sugar or honey in it 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 23 

it is called Moursacic or Saltse. It is a kind of mead ratter tlian 
wine ; yet it is as strong as the best sack, and makes a man drunk 
much sooner. 

Tsia is a kind of The or Tea ; but the plant is more delicate, 
and more highly esteemed than that of The. Persons of quality 
keep it very carefully in earthern pots, well stopped and luted. 
But the Japanese prepare it quite differently from the Europeans ; 
for, instead of infusing it into warm water, they beat it as small as 
powder, and take of it as much as will lie on the point of a knife, 
and put it into a dish of porcelain or earth, full of seething water, ia 
which they stir it till the water is all green, and then drink it as 
hot as they can endure it. It is good and excellent after a debauch. 
There is nothing that allays the vapors and settles the stomach bet- 
ter than this herb. The pots used for making this kind of drink 
are the most precious of any of their household stuff, as it is well 
known that there have been tea-pots made which cost between sis 
and seven pounds sterling. 

Their marriages are made only by relations who have some 
superiority over those who contract them. The father and mother, 
and for want of them, others of the kindred, find out the party, 
and propose the alliance ; so that the young couple know nothing 
of what is done, and never see one another till the marriage is to 
be consummated. 

They are very inquisitive and curious about the age of the bride 
and bridegroom, that there may be little or no disparity between 
them in that respect. The husband accepts of neither portion nor 
present with his wife ; but on his side the case is quite different, 
for, when the nuptials are solemnized, you will generally meet with 
carriages in his retinue plentifully loaded with provisions and pre- 
sents for his wife's relations. We have nothing that bears any 
resemblance to this custom but the grant of a certain sum, by way 
of jointure, which the intended husband obliges himself before- 
hand to allow his intended bride, in case the marriage takes effect. 
The nuptial ceremony is thus performed : — The bridegroom and 
bride go out of town by two different ways, with their respective 
retinues, and meet by appointment at the foot of a certain hill. In 
that of the former, besides his friends and relations, &c., are the 
carriages before-mentioned. Having arrived at the hill, which 
they ascend to the summit by a pair of stairs made for the purpose, 
they enter a tent, and seat themselves, one on the one side and the 
other on the other, like plenipotentiaries assembled together at a 
congress of peace. The parents of both parties place themselves 



24 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

beliiud the bride, and a band of music range tbemselves behind the 
bridegroom, but all ^dthout the verge of the tent : Both their 
retinues stay below at the foot of the hill. The bridegroom and 
bride, each with a flambeau, then present themselves under the 
tent before the Grod of Marriage, who is placed upon an altar, 
having the head of a dog, which is a lively emblem of the mutual 
fidelity requisite in a state of wedlock. The string in his hands is 
another symbol of the force and obligation of its bands. Near the 
god, and between the two parties, stands a Bonze, whose office it 
is to perform the marriage ceremony. There are several lighted 
lamps at a small distance from the tent ; at one of which the bride 
lights the flambeau, which she holds in her hand, pronouncing at 
the same time a form of words, which are dictated to her by the 
Bonze. After this, the bridegroom lights his taper or flambeau 
by that of his intended bride. This part of the ceremony is 
accompanied with loud acclamations of joy and the congratulations 
of all the friends and relations present. At the same time the 
Bonze dismisses them with his benediction, and their retinue make 
a large bonfire at the foot of the hill, in which ai-e thrown all the 
toys and play-things which the young bride amused herself with in 
her virgin state. Others place a distaff and some flax before her, 
to intimate that from thence-forward she must apply herself to the 
prudent management of her family affairs. The ceremony con- 
cludes with the solemn sacrifice of two oxen to the God of Mar- 
riage. After this the new-married couple return with their retinues, 
and the bride is conducted to her husband's house, where she finds 
every room in the most exact order, and embellished in the gayest 
manner. The pavements and the threshhold are strewed with 
flowers and greens, whilst flags and streamers on the house-top 
seem to promise nothing but one continued scene of delight. 

The Japanese are very tender and indulgent in the education of 
their children ; and though they have an absolute and unlimited 
authority of life and death over them, yet they very seldom act 
the tyrant, or treat them with the least inhumanity. They endea- 
vor to inspire them with the love of glory, which is their darling 
passion, and take peculiar care not to thwart the bias of their na- 
tural inclinations. As the ambition to procure honor and esteem, 
and the dread of losing their reputation, is conspicuous, even in 
their infancy, it is no difficult task to inspire them with uncommon 
courage and resolution, with generous and disinterested principles ; 
and on the contrary, to impriat on their minds a lively detestation 
and abhorrence of particular vices, as base and contemptible. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 25 

They look down therefore on avarice, excessive gaming, and theft, 
with an eye of generous disdain. He who is guilty of the last, 
though the offence prove never so trivial, is sure to die without 
redemption ; nay, the injured party may do himself justice, and 
murder the pilferer taken in the act. 

The Japanese merchants are so fair and honest in all their tran- 
sactions that in case they receive from those they deal with more 
than their just due, or the stated price of their commodities, they 
will return the surplus. It is reasonable to suppose, that these 
concientious Pagans are seldom or never worth millions, as some of 
the Christians are. There is another thing which is very remark- 
able ; viz., that poverty is neither the object of shame or con- 
tempt at Japan. 

We shall not expatiate on the obedience which children pay their 
parents ; on the equanimity and fortitude of the Japanese under 
misfortunes ; or their patience under affiictions, &c. Notwith- 
standing these virtues are so conspicuous in the Japanese, they are 
haughty and imperious, fawning and hypocritical, full of resent- 
ment and revenge, malicious to the last degree, savage and in- 
human toward those who seem to treat them with the least cold- 
ness or disrespect. 

They have academies and universities for the instruction of their 
youth in the arts and sciences. The Lizard is their Emblem of Wis- 
dom, under which venerable form they adore the deity who pre- 
sides over learning. The lizard, however, has no statues or altars 
erected to its honor. 

The Sovereign of Japan is absolute and independent, and his 
power and authority unlimited, to which his subjects show a pas- 
sive obedience. He looks on all remonstrances as acts of disloyal- 
ty, and consequently never hearkens to them except with the 
greatest reluctance. On the contrary, the prospect of advance- 
ment to the most important posts in the government, renders the 
nobility themselves very tractable and submissive. They make it 
their principal study to pry into the secret thoughts and inclina- 
tions of their sovereign, in order to ingratiate themselves in his fa- 
vor, and answer in all respects the will and pleasure of this terres 
trial deity. The vice-roys and tributary princes, in imitation of 
their great monarch, make all their dependents feel the weight of 
their despotic power, and resemble those rivulets which, as they 
glide along, overflow their banks with the same rapidity as larger 
rivers. The Emperor is political enough to engage them in the 
most difficult and expensive enterprises. They are far more un- 



26 • JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

happy than the populace, who are unknown to and beneath the 
notice of their sovereign, since they are obliged to submit to such 
measures as are almost insupportable, and are every day exposed 
to the wayward and capricious humors of their lord and master. 
If the misdemeanors of any one of them happen to be punished 
with death, each individual of his family, how distant soever the re- 
lation may be, falls a victim at once with him, to his sovereign's 
resentment. One method which these grandees take to ino-ratiate 
themselves with their Prince, consists in erecting edifices with all 
the beauty and magnificence imaginable. We are assured that 
their slaves are contented to be buried alive under the founda- 
tions — the Japanese being so weak as to imagine, that such walls 
as are erected on human bodies, are forever secured from all fatal 
disasters. 

On New Year's Day all the princes, as well secular as ecclesias- 
tic ; that is to say, the superior of the Bonzes, and in short, all 
the religious orders in general, wait on the Emperor in a body, to 
pay him fresh instances of their submission and obedience, and re- 
new their oaths of allegiance. 

When a person dies at Nangascke, they produce witnesses to 
justify that the party was not a Christian at the time of his de- 
cease, nay, they examine the corpse with the utmost precaution, in 
order to be convinced that there is no mark of Christianity about 
it, or of any punishment inflicted on that account ; after which, 
they draw up a certificate in favor of the deceased. 

Amidas is the god of departed sculs. They hold that there is a 
Limbo for little children, and that a Grod or Divine Judge presides 
over it, and that it is situated on a lake, which they call Fekone, 
in the road to Jeddo. All children who die before they attain 
the age of seven years, enter immediately into this Limbo, and are 
there tormented till the liberal contributions of such as are chari- 
tably disposed, obtain of the mendicant Bonzes those effusions of 
the heart, those effectual fervent prayers, which assuage the tor- 
ments of sinners in the other world. On the banks of this lake 
they erect little chapels, all composed of wood, in which reside 
some particular priests, who chant the Namanda in a very disconso- 
late tone, mutter over a few prayers, and receive the benevolence 
of all those who travel that way. As a grateful acknowledgment 
of their favors they give them several papers, with the names of 
their gods written upon them, as also some of their most heinous 
sins. Such travelers as are a little scrupulous, as well as all de- 
vout pilgrims, receive these spiritual favors with their heads un 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 27 . 

covered, carry tliem with all the respect imaginable to the brink 
of the lake, and throw them into it, having first tied a stone to 
them that they may be the better assured of their going directly 
down to Limbo. This precaution is so much the more necessary, 
as the ease and relief of souls entirely depend upon it ; for they 
receive comfort and consolation gradually as the water obliterates 
or wears away the names and characters which are written on these 
papers. The Bonzes point out the very spot on which these poor 
children suffer ; nay, even distinguish it by a heap of stones, dis- 
posed in the form of a pyramid. 

There is a little temple called Fakone, adjacent to the chapels 
before-mentioned, remarkable for its numerous sacred relics. There 
they produce the sabres of their heroic Camis, still dyed with the 
blood of those whom they had slain in battle ; the vestments which 
were heretofore worn by an angel, and which supplied the place 
of wings, and the comb of Baritomo, who was their first secular 
Emperor. These, however, are not the only relics which they boast 
of at Japan — there are abundance to be met with in several other 
temples, and all of them are generally preserved with the utmost 
strictness and precaution. As the saints of this empire are, for 
the most part, more illustrious warriors than those of other nations, 
there are amongst the relics of Japan a large quantity of sabres, 
swords and cimeters, which were made use of in their military ex- 
peditions. 

The Japanese burn their dead. If the deceased be a person of 
distinction, his friends and relations, dressed all in mourning, re- 
pair to the place appointed for the burning of the corpse, about. an 
hour before the funeral procession. The women are all veiled. 
A superior Bonze, attended by thirty of his own order, all dressed 
in their ceremonial habits, march in the front. Their dress 
consists of a linen shirt, with a black cloak over it, and a dark- 
brown vestment over that. Each of them caiTies a taper in 
his hand. After them come two hundred Bonzes more, who ' 
either sing or invoke, as loud as they are able, the Deity to whom 
the deceased in his life-time was peculiarly devoted. Then fol- 
low a considerable number of inferior fellows, who are hired to 
carry at their jDike's end, several baskets full of papers, cut in 
various forms and painted in divers colors, which flutter in the air 
more or less, according to the motion of their pikes, and denote 
that the deceased is safely arrived at the mansions of everlasting 
bliss. After them come eight young Bonzes, divided into two 
bands, carrying long canes in their hands, with long streamers at 



28 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

the end of them ; on each of which the name of some particular 
Deity is inscribed. Then other Bonzes follow them, with lighted 
lanterns, embellished with several hieroglyphic figures. These 
last are attended by two young men, dressed in brown colored 
clothes, who carry unlighted tapers. Several other persons, like- 
wise di-essed in brown, with black leathern caps on their heads, 
neatly varnished, and on which is incribed the name of their idol, 
follow all these Bonzes. After this first train comes the deceased 
carried by four men, seated in his coffin, with his head inclining 
somewhat forward, and his hands closed, as in a praying posture. 
The corpse is dressed in white, having a paper robe over it, com- 
posed of the leaves of a book, wherein are described the actions of 
the god to whom the deceased was in his life-time most devoted. 
The children of the deceased surround the corpse ; the youngest 
carries a lighted pine taper in his hand, with which it is his pecu- 
liar province to set fire to the funeral-pile. The populace, who 
also wear leathern caps, bring up the rear of this solemn proces- 
sion. 

This is the order in which they march out of the city to the 
place where the funeral-pile is erected, which is surrounded with 
four walls covered with white cloth, the four gates only excepted, 
through which they are to enter. These gates front the four car- 
dinal points of the compass. They dig a deep grave in the middle, 
which is filled with wood ; and on each side place a table, covered 
with all manner of provisions. On one of them stands a little cha- 
fing-dish, like a copper, full of live coals and sweet-wood. As 
soon as the corpse is brought to the brink of the grave, they fasten 
a cord to the coffin, which is made like a little bed for the deceased 
to lie on. After they have carried the little bed in form thrice 
round the grave, they lay it on the funeral-pile, whilst the Bonzes 
and relations of the deceased, call incessantly on the name of his 
tutelary idol. After this, the superior Bonze, that is, he that led 
up the van of the procession, walks three times round the corpse, 
with his lighted taper, waving it three times over his head, and 
pronouncing some mj^stical words, the meaning of which the assist- 
ants themselves are perfect strangers to. This last action, some 
say, denotes that the soul exists from all eternity, and will never 
cease to be ; but this emblem seems forced, and very obscure 
After this, he throws away his taper, and two of the nearest 
relations to the deceased taking it up, wave it thi-ice over the 
corpse, and then toss it into the grave, into which has been poured 
a considerable quantity of oils, perfumes, and aromatic drugs. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 29 

During the time that the body is consuming in the flames, the 
children or nearest relations of the deceased, advance toward the 
censer standing upon the table, put perfumes into it, and then 
worship and adore it. This ceremony over, the friends and rela- 
tions of the deceased withdraw, leaving none but the populace and 
the poor behind them, who either eat or carry home the entertain- 
ment provided for the deceased. The day following the children, 
relations and friends, repair to the grave again, in order to collect 
the bones and ashes of the deceased, which they carefully deposit 
in a vermilion urn, and cover it with a rich veil. The Bonzes 
also go thither again, to renew their prayers for seven days to- 
gether. The next day they convey the urn to a proper place, 
where they inter it, fixing a brass plate or a stone over it, whereon 
are engraved both the name of the deceased and the idol he 
adored. These sepulchral monuments, as there are no stated 
rules relating to them, are made in various forms, according to the 
direction of the survivors, and embellished either with some Japan- 
ese compartments or other decorations in hasso relievo. They en- 
grave likewise, on marble pillars, the most heroic achievements of 
the deceased, his public employments, and the day of his nativity 
and decease. A marble statue of the deceased is also frequently 
erected in the same place. The hero whom they commemorate is 
represented with his legs across under his robe, according to the 
Japanese fashion, and his hands closed in a praying posture. If 
the statue represents a lady, her hands, on the contrary, are open 
and extended, and her head somewhat inclined toward one shoul- 
der. These sepulchral monuments are frequently strewed with 
flowers, and those who visit them bring with them an elegant col- 
lation for the deceased. 

They suppose two Deities to be the guardians of the dead, who 
preside over everything that relates to them. One of these they 
represent with four faces. In one of his hands he holds a sceptre, 
with a sun upon the point of it. This emblem, in all probability, 
denotes the conduct of Divine Providence. The hand immediately 
below that which holds the sceptre, (for this idol has four hands 
as well as four faces,) holds a kind of wand, and the other a censer 
or pot, full of perfumes. The Deity thus represented, is supposed 
to be the guardian of the souls of old people and such as have been 
married. They give him the name Janus. The other, whom they 
call Xigna7)i, they suppose to be the guardian of the souls of little 
children, and all such as are not arrived to years of maturity. 

The Deity whom the Japanese suppose to preside over the souls 



30 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

of little cHldren, and all who have not arrived to maturity, they re- 
present young and fair, with four arms — in one he holds an infimt, 
in another a serpent, in the other a sabre, and in the other a ring 
full of knots. His robe is embellished all over with stars, and there 
is a parrot always placed on one side of him. 

Once a year they celebrate a mortuary festival, which consists in 
visiting the sepulchres of the dead, and carrying provisions with 
them for their entertainment. This festival lasts two days. Every 
house is illuminated, whilst the people flock out of the city for this 
purpose during the evening. There, if we may credit what they 
assert, they have familiar intercourse with the dead, congratulate 
them on then* happy return to this world, and are overjoyed to see 
them again. Their compliments thus paid, they invite them to an 
elegant entertainment. Soon after they request the favor of them to 
take a walk into the city. " We will go before you," say they to 
their deceased friends, " to make all the preparations that are re- 
quisite for your commodious reception, and to pay you those honors 
and testimonies of respect which are due to such worthy guests." 
Some short time after the dead prepare accordingly for their march, 
and the living flock out of the city with lighted tapers to meet them, 
and conduct them into town. But the two days appointed for the 
festival being expired, they shower down a deluge of stones over 
the city, in order to oblige the dead to withdraw to their re- 
spective tombs ; for should but one of them by any accident stay 
behind, it would be looked upon as a public misfortune. 

The Japanese have not the way of keeping accounts as the mer- 
chants in other countries have ; but they can count with certain little 
bowls, which they thread upon little sticks on a square board, as 
fast as our ablest accountants by all the rules of arithmetic. They 
have many books, and several large libraries. 

The Dayro^ who is the Pope of Japan, is the person who keeps 
a memorial of whatever passes, and writes the chronicle of the 
country. Only himself, the lords and ladies descended from him, 
and the lords and gentlemen of his house, numbering about eight 
hundred, have the privilege of writing books. These only have all 
the learning among themselves, and are so proud of it, that the 
advantages derived from it, are equal to those of their birth, which 
is thought more noble than that of the Emperor. Thence it 
comes, that they slight all others so far that they shun their 
conversation, live in a quarter of the city distinct from the rest, 
and will have no communication with the ignorant. 

The Dayro has the title of Tin-sin, the signification of which 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 31 

is no less than tlie Son of Heaven. His person is looked upon as 
sacred. He is never permitted to touch the ground with his feet, 
as being a derogation from his dignity to walk ; and for that rea- 
son, whenever he appears in public, his guards carry him upon 
their shoulders. Once every five years the Emperor goes to Meaco, 
where the Dayro resides, to do him reverence. The ceremonies 
of the interview between him and the Dayro are exceedingly 
magnificent. One of the Directors of the Dutch commerce in Ja- 
pan gives the following account of the procession of one of these 
interviews, of which he was an eye-witness : — 

" The streets were railed in on both sides, from the Dayro's 
palace to the Emperor's, having files of soldiers all along, and the 
middle of the street strewed with white sand, all laid so even that 
nothing should retard the procession or disturb its order. These 
soldiers, who were part of the Dayro's guards and part of the 
Emperor's, were all clad in white, having on their heads helmets 
of black lacque, by their sides two cimeters, and in their hands a 
nanganet, or Japanese pike. 

" The first appearance was that of a great number of the do- 
mestics of these two Princes, going to and fro, as also that of se- 
veral porters or sedan-men, who carried, in great square chests, 
which were of black lacque and gilded, the baggage of the Dayro 
to the Emperor's palace. 

" Then followed, in forty-six palanquins, (each of them carried 
by four men,) four maids of honor belonging to the Dayro's wives, 
who went in that equipage to the Emperor's palace. The palan- 
quins were of a fine white wood, painted with green, garnished 
with brass plates, very neatly made, and five or six feet high. 

" After them there came twenty-one other palanquins of one 
kind, which they call JVoj-rimGnes, varnished with black and 
gilded. 

" Next them there came twenty-seven other Norrimones, of the 
same size with the preceding, but made with wickets and win- 
dows, for as many lords of the Dayro's retinue, who were carried 
in them to the Emperor's palace, having every one before him a 
gilt umbrello, covered with very fine cloth. . They had about them 
an hundred and eight pages, clad in white, and behind them twenty- 
four gentlemen, armed as if they were ready to engage in a battle. 
These had on their heads a kind of bonnet made of black lacque, 
with a little plume of feathers of the same color, and under their 
Japamsscs they had long and narrow breeches of satin, of several 
colors, embroidered with gold and silver, with buskins varnished 



3^. JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

witli black, and gilded at the extremities. By tlieir sides they had 
cimeters, the hilts of which were gilded, and bows and arrows at 
their waist, and over their shoulders scarfs richly embroidered, the 
ends of which hung down on the cruppers of their horses. They 
were all the handsomest persons that could be seen. Their saddles 
were varnished over and gilded, the seats embroidered and covered 
with tiger's and lynx's skins ; their trappings were of crimson 
silk, twisted, and the horses had their manes tied up with gold and 
silver thread ; and they had on the breast and crupper a kind of 
net-work of twisted crimson silk, and instead of shoes their hoofs 
were surrounded with plain crimson silk. Every horse was led by 
two lackies, and two other lackies carried two great umbrelloes, 
covered with a very fine and transparent cloth, and upon that a 
covering of scarlet fringed with gold. Another lackey carried a 
nanganet, or pike, the top of which was also covered with a piece 
of red and black cloth. Every horseman had eight pages clad in 
white, and armed with two cimeters, according to the mode of the 
country. 

" This body of horse served for a guard for the three chiefest of 
the Dayro's wives, who followed it in three coaches, which were 
at least twenty or twenty-five feet in height, ten or twelve in 
length, and five or six in breadth, having on each side three, and 
in front two windows, with embroidered curtains. Before and be- 
hind they were made like the front of a house, as was also the 
door at which they went in, which was made behind at the back. 
The wheels were of iron, and the coach was varnished all over 
with black, so that the wheels might be seen turning as it were in 
a looking-glass. The roofs of them, which were built archwise, 
had drawn thereon the Dayro's arms, within a great circle of gold. 
The pillars, as also the inside of the coach, was enriched with 
figures of beaten gold and mother-of-pearl, and all the extremities 
were garnished with gold. Two great black bufflers, covered 
with a net-work of crimson silk, drew each of them, and they were 
guided by four halberdeers clad in white. Every coach was valued 
at seventy thousand taels^ which amount to twenty thousand pounds 
sterling. These coaches had also their foot-guard, and many 
pages marching on both sides of them. 

" Twenty-three of the chiefest servants belonging to these ladies 
were carried next to them, in as many black Norrimones adorned 
with brass plates, having a halberdeer marching before each of them, 
carrying an umlDrello, on each side two pages, and behind them 
sixty-eight gentlemen of the Dayro's, clad and armed like tho«^ 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 33 

mentioned before. These marched abreast, and were followed by 
a great nnmber of pages, halberdeers, and slaves. 

" After them there were carried two gilt stools, with plates of 
gold at the extremities ; a great firework ; a great and A'^ery rich 
sea-compass ; two great golden candlesticks , two pillars of ebony ; 
three cabinets of ebony, garnished with gold plates ; four other 
cabinets, larger and richer than the three preceding ones ; two 
great gold basins, carved ; a pair of slippers, varnished. 

" After these, there followed in two coaches of the same kind 
as the three first, the Emperor and his Empress, having before 
them an hundred and sixty gentlemen, armed with two cimeters 
and a nanganet, serving for a particular guard about their Majes- 
ties' persons. These guards are called Sambreys, and are chosen 
out of the most valiant and most active persons in the kingdom. 
Immediately before the coaches there marched four men with um- 
brelloes, four others with great iron rods to make way, two light 
horses magnificently covered, and with very rich trappings, ac- 
companied each of them by eight men, armed with bows and 
arrows, and two great pikes. 

" The Emperor's brethren followed next on horseback, accom- 
panied by all the lords of Japan, who were also on horseback, all 
armed, and sumptuously clad, an hundred and sixty-four in num- 
ber. These marched all in a file, each of them having a long 
train of pages, lackies, halberdeers, guards, and slaves. The other 
lords, among whom were Ouwaydonne and Woutadonne, the 
chiefest of the Emperor's council, marched two abreast, he of the 
greater quality taking the left hand, which among them is accounted 
the most honorable. 

" After them marched four hundred of the guards of the body, 
in the same order, in white liveries. 

" Next them, in six fair coaches, came the Dayro's concubines ; 
but these coaches were not as large as the former, and each of them 
were drawn by a single buffler. 

" Then followed sixty-eight gentlemen on horseback, attended 
by a great number of lackies and slaves. 

" The Dayro's secretary, accompanied by thirty-seven gentlemen 
on horseback, followed next in a coach, and immediately preceded 
forty-six lords of the Dayro's house, who were carried in norrimo- 
nes, fifteen of which were of ebony, beautified with ivory ; thirteen 
varnished with black and gilded, and the other eighteen were only 
varnished with black. There were carried after them forty-six 
umbrelloes suitable to their norrimones. 



34 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

" Then followed the Dayro's music, which consisted of fifty-four 
gentlemen, very oddly but very richly clad, who played on their in- 
struments, which were only tabors, trimbrels, copper basins, bells, 
and the kind of lute spoken of before, which was not heard by 
reason of the confused noise of the rest. 

" Yet this was a kind of music delightful to the Dayro, who im- 
mediately followed it. He sat in a little wooden structure, made 
like a sedan-chair, but much larger ; it being about seven or eight 
feet high, and as many "in diameter, having windows on all sides, 
with embroidered curtains. The roof of that little structure was 
arched, and had in the midst, upon a great button, a cock of massy 
gold, with his wings spread, in a field of azure, with several stars 
of beaten gold about the sun and moon, which appeared there with 
a lustre resembling nearly the natural. This machine was carried 
by fifty gentlemen of the Dayro's retinue, all clad in white, with 
bonnets on their heads. Forty other gentlemen went before it, and 
represented the guard for the Dayro's person. These were clad 
after a particular fashion, much like that of the. ancient Romans, 
each of them carrying a gilt nanganet. The captain of the guard 
marched alone on horseback, behind the Dayro's chair, armed with 
a target stuck through with several arrows, and had carried after 
him forty umbrelloes for the guards. 

" Next were carried thirteen varnished chests, and at the close 
of the procession came four hundred soldiers, clad in white, who 
inarched six abreast." 

This ceremony took up the whole day. The Dayro staid 
three days at the Emperor's palace, who, with his brethren, waited 
on him in person, during that time. There were brought to his 
table, at every meal, an hundred and fourteen dishes of meat. 

The Emperor's presents to him were : — Two hundred marks of 
gold ; an hundred garments ; two great silver pots full of honey ; 
five catties of the wood of calambac ; two hundred red pieces of 
crimson serge ; five pots of silver, full of musk, and five excellent 
horses, with very rich trappings. 

The young Emperor gave him three thousand pieces of silver, 
amounting each to two hundred and ninety pounds ; two fair 
cimeters, set with gold ; two hundred rich garments, after the 
Japanese fiishion ; three hundred pieces of satin ; a piece of ca- 
lambac wood, three ells and a half in length, and above two feet 
thick ; five great vessels of silver fall of musk, and ten excellent 
horses, with rich trappings. 

Every dish served up at the Dayro's table, and every plate laid 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 35 

upon it, must be perfectly new. By tlie estaWished rules of their 
ceremonial, every implement, of whatever kind or nature once used 
at liis table, must never be brought before him again, nay, must be 
perfectly destroyed and broke to pieces ; for the superstitious 
Japanese are of opinion that if a layman should, through inadver- 
tency, eat off a plate that had served at his highness's table, he 
would be imiuediately tormented with a sore mouth and an inflam- 
mation in his throat. So likewise should a layman presume to put 
on any vestment whatever belonging to the Dayro, without express 
orders from the Emperor, his body (say they) would be infallibly 
bloated, like one that had been poisoned. 

As soon as the throne of the Dayro happens to be vacant, they 
elect a successor, without the least regard either to age or sex ; but 
they observe, with the utmost exactness, proximity of blood, inso- 
much that sometimes an infant is established on the throne, and 
sometimes the widow and relict of the deceased Monarch. In 
case there are several candidates for the throne,- and the right of 
primogeniture appears dubious and difficult to be decided, then 
each reigns alternately so many years, in proportion to their re- 
spective titles to this impotent royalty ; for it may properly be 
called so, since, (notwithstanding the religious adoration, or some- 
thing nearly allied to it, which is paid to the Dayro,) his dignity 
is without authority, and must never presume to exert itself with- 
out the Emperor's approbation. He is a Pope, and is infallible 
with respect to the people ; but his infallibility ceases whenever it 
IS repugnant to the interest of tbe secular Monarch. And ought 
we to imagine that there is anything fantastical or extravagant in 
dl this ? No, doubtless ; for if we will but observe the transac- 
tions of other courts, we shall find that infallibility depends there 
also on some sacred college or some particular political views, &e. 

Sometimes the Dayro abdicates his crown to promote his chil- 
dren ; and in that case, if he has a numerous issue, he has the 
pleasure , to witness some part of their reigns before he dies. 
Whatever revolutions happen in the Dayro's court, they are 
attended with no manner of bustle or confusion, to prevent, in all 
probability, the populace from being concerned in them ; for let 
his dignity be what it may, this much is certain, that all the 
application and interest imaginable are made to procure it ; and 
the candidates have often been so sanguine as to create civil 
wars thereupon, and maintain their several pretensions by force of 
arms. 

The city of Meaco, and the places within its jurisdiction, are all 



36 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

the dominions tliat belong to the Dayro. It is true, he has the 
disposal, by the Emperor''s permission, of all the titles of honor and 
dignity which are conferred on persons who are advanced to the 
highest and most important posts, by virtue of their merits, 
interests, or extraction. He also receives several valuable presents 
from the tributary Princes and Viceroys of the Provinces, either 
out of a religious regard, or to secure his favor ; nay, it is further 
asserted, that he annually receives from these princes a kind of 
embassy of submission, and that they frequently appear in person 
to do him homage. The superstitious idea which the populace en- 
tertain of him, obliges the Dayro to espend the best part of his 
revenues in the support and maintenance of his grandeur and 
sacred character. Everything that relates to him is very pompous 
and magnificent. His nuptials, the laying-in of his empress, the 
birth and education of his heir-ajjparent, and the choice of a pro- 
per nurse for him, require a number of ceremonies, and are more 
pompous and magnificent than the most lively imagination can con- 
ceive. He has twelve wives. She who bears him the first son or 
daughter is styled the Empress. The Dayro generally wears a 
black tunic, under a scarlet robe, with a large veil over it, made 
something like our craps, the fringes whereof fall over his hands ; 
and upon his head he has a cap embellished with divers tufts or 
tassels. All his court distinguish themselves by their dress from 
the laity. 

The number of ecclesiastics belonging to Meaco amounts to 
fifty-two thousand, and the number of temples to nearly six thou- 
sand. These temples are generally built on high places ; and par- 
ticular care is taken to erect them as distant as possible from such 
places as are exposed to any manner of filth whatever ; in this 
particular they are much more careful than Christians. Besides 
the agreeable prospect which naturally attends a high situation, 
their temples are always built near some purling stream and shady 
grotto. The priests assert that the gods take delight in a gay situ- 
ation. They have not always idols in their temples ; when they 
have, they are placed on an altar in the centre of the temple. 
The idol has a large sconce full of perfumed candles, always stand- 
ing before it. They build their temples, or, as they call them, 
Mias, which signify the habitations of their Cami, or immortal 
soul, of the choicest fir-trees. A pleasant spacious walk leads up 
to them, and at the entrance of them there is a handsome gate, on 
which the name of the god to whom the temple of Mia is consecrated, 
is written in large characters of gold. This walk leads up to the 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. ^ 37 

temple, wHcTi is nearly no more than a mean wooden edifice, 
built very low, and choked up, as it were, with the numerous 
trees and bushes surrounding it. There is nothing to be seen in 
these Mias but a looking-glass, which, according to their notion, 
is an hieroglyphic of the Deity, and some white paper cut in seve- 
ral forms, intended as an emblem of purity of heai-t. The doors 
are likewise embellished with white paper. When any one comes 
to pay his devotions to the idol, he never presumes to enter into the 
temple, but stands without ; and whilst saying his prayers, looks 
only into it through a lattice-window. 

The Souls or G-enii, which are adored in these Mias, and which 
are generally called Cami, are likewise called Sin and Fotogi. 

The highways and squai-es in Japan are always honored with the 
presence of some idol, which is erected either with a view to kindle 
devotion in the souls of travelers, or with an intent only to pro- 
tect and support the place. There are idols also erected near the 
bridges and around the temples, chapels and convents. The peo- 
ple purchase either the pictures or images of these idols. The 
former are generally drawn on a sheet or half a sheet of paper, 
which are pasted like bills or advertisements upon the gates of their 
cities, and other public buildings, or on posts at the corner of their 
bridges or streets. The people, however, are not obliged, as they 
pass them, to prostrate themselves, or bow the knee before them. 
They have generally likewise an image of their domestic and tute- 
lar gods before the doors of their houses. Ghoon is the particu- 
lar idol which is most commonly represented by these images. They 
call him also God fii-ten oo — the literal signification of which 
is, " The Prince of the Heavens, with the Head of an Ox." The 
Japanese ascribe to him the power of protecting them from all 
distempers, particularly the small-pox, and other casualties inci- 
dent to mankind. Others, still more superstitious, or, rather more, 
whimsical and extravagant, imagine that they shall be always 
healthy and happy, provided the doors of their apartments are but 
decorated with the horrid figure of a savage of Jesso, who is hairy 
all over, and armed with a cutlass, which he holds in both his 
hands, and with which, according to their notion, this savage de- 
nies admittance to all casualties and distempers whatsoever. Some- 
times the door is secured by a monstrous head of some devil, or the 
tremendous head of a dragon. The last custom is likewise ob- 
served amongst the Chinese. Sometimes they content themselves 
with adorning the door with a festoon, composed of boughs of 
some particular trees, or with a plant called liverwort. In s'"' 



38 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

they frequently place their protectors over the doors of their 
apartments ; and it is highly probable, that throughout the whole, 
there is a great conformity to the amulets of the ancients, and the 
talismans of the Arabians. 

All the gods of Japan are represented in gigantic monstrous 
forms, sitting on the flower of a plant, which the botanists call 
nymphx, and the Japanese, tarale. The form and attitude of their 
gods, and their Seat, if the flower may be properly called so, in 
which they are represented, are, for the most part, the very same 
amongst all the idolatrous Indians, and their neighbors. These 
idols are all gilded, and their heads encircled with rays, like other 
saints, or with a crown, a garland, or a kind of mitre, or else with 
a cap or hat, made in the Chinese fashion. 

Amidas, who is sometimes called Omyto^ is the god and guardian 
of the souls of the Japanese, who preserves them and saves them 
from those punishments which by their sins and iniquities they 
have deserved. It is to this god the devotees say their Navianclaj 
— a short ejaculatory prayer, consisting of three words only, 
signifying — " Ever blessed Amidas, have mercy on iis." He is 
represented upon an altar, and mounted on a horse with seven 
heads, which are hieroglyphics of seven thousand ages, each head 
representing one thousand. Amidas is represented with a dog's 
head instead of a human face. He holds in his hand a gold ring 
or circle, which he bites. This may be said to bear a very near 
affinity to the Egyptian circle, which was looked upon as the Em- 
blem of Time. Amidas is dressed in a very rich robe, adorned 
with pearls and precious stones. He is intended more immediately 
than any other to represent the Supreme Being. Amidas, who is 
the supposed protector of their souls, and their saviour, is revered 
after a vei'y singular and, as they think, meritorious manner, by 
some particular devotees, who voluntarily sacrifice their lives in 
honor to this idol, and drown themselves in his presence. This 
act of devotion is performed in divers ways. Frequently despair, 
incurable distempers, and the torments of poverty, prevail on the 
Japanese to throw themselves headlong into the water, in honor 
of Amidas, under the color and disguise of devotion ; but, however 
that be, the ceremony consists principally in .entering a little boat, 
generally gilded, and adorned with several silken streamers, and in 
tying a considerable quantity of stones to the neck, waist and legs. 
But the destined victim first takes a dance, and frisks about to the 
sound of gongums, and other intrumental music. After that, he 
throws himself headlong; into the river. On this solemn occasion 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 39 

he Is attended by a numerous train of his friends and relations, and 
several Bonzes. This voluntary catastrophe is said to be preceded 
by an intimate converse for two days between him and his god. 
Some of these enthusiastic Japanese prepare themselves a consid- 
erable time beforehand for this self-offering, which is to introduce 
them into the paradise of Amidas. One of tkem preaches for 
several days together on the contempt of life and the vanity of all 
sublunary enjoyments, in order to persuade and prevail on the 
rest, by the energy and power of his exhortations, to devote them- 
selves to death after his pious example. On the last day of this 
preparation, he who performs the function of preacher, once more 
preaches and enforces his earnest admonitions to his companions. 
After this, they enter into the boat, and sink her to the bottom. 
Others' undergo another sort of martyrdom, in order to be made 
worthy of the paradise of Amidas. They confine themselves with- 
in a narrow cavern, built in the form of a sepulchre, in which 
there is scarce room to sit down. This they cause to be walled 
all round about, reserving only a little air-hole. In this grot the 
enthusiastic martyr calls upon his god Amidas without intermission, 
till the moment he expires. The superstitious consecrate chapels 
to his honor, and the wits, to immortalize his memory, write his 
elegy and epitaph. This excess of devotion is owing to the doc- 
trine of the Immortality of the Soul, maintained by the JBudsdoistSj 
and to the joys of that paradise, which they expect from Amidas, 
as the promised rewards of their virtuous and holy lives. That 
Amidas is, in their opinion, the Supreme Being, is undeniably evi- 
dent from the description which his disciples gave of him ; for, say 
they, he is an invisible, incorporeal and immutable substance, dis- 
tinct from all the elements, existed before Nature, is the fountain 
and foundation of all good, without beginning or ending. He cre- 
ated, in short, all the Universe, and is infinite and immense. They 
likewise add, that he governs the Universe without the least 
trouble or care imaginable. In. some places he is represented 
under the figure of a naked youth, or else resembling a young 
woman in the face, with holes in his ears ; in others, he appeal's 
with three heads, each covered with a bonnet, like a collegian's 
cap, and with three beards, which meet together upon his shoul- 
ders. Besides the temples and altars which are erected to his 
honor throughout the whole empire of Japan, a great number of 
convents are consecrated to him, in which several monks and nuns 
reside, who are forever destined to a single life, on pain of death. 
Canon, called the son of Amidas, they suppose to preside over 



40 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

the waters and the fish. He is the creator of the sun and the 
moon. This idol, according to the representation of him, has four 
arms like his father ; is swallowed up by a fish as far as the mid- 
dle, and is crowned with flowers. He has a sceptre in one hand, 
a flower in another, and a ring in the third ; the fourth is closed, 
and the arm extended. Over against him there is a figure of a 
humble devotee, one half of whose body lies concealed within a 
shell. There are four other figures at a little distance on an altar, 
each of them with their hands closed like humble suppliants, from 
whence as from so many fountains flow streams of water. This 
god Canon, and the five idols here mentioned, are all to be seen 
in the temple of Osacca. There is no difference, with respect to 
the structure, between this fabric and the Mias. It has three 
stories, and the stairs thereof are pretty high. The windows are 
all latticed for the service of the devotees, who have the privilege 
only of looking into them, as they pay their solemn vows, and 
make their supplications to the idol. The walls are adorned with 
idols ; and there is a very agreeable grotto adjoining the temple, 
which stands in the midst of a large inclosure. Canon is some- 
times represented with seven heads upon his breast, and thirty 
hands, all armed with arrows. 

Xantai is a deity of the most modern date, and no other than 
the Emperor Nobumanga, who in his life-time constituted himself 
a god. There are so many instances of the like extravagance 
among the ancients, that we need not dispute the veracity of this 
account. He began with treating the deities of his own empire 
with the utmost contempt, and then erected a magnificent temple 
for himself upon a hill. In order to attract the peoples' devotion 
to himself, he caused the most celebrated idols of his empire to be 
taken down, and advanced his own image upon a lofty pedestal 
above them all, and published an edict in which he prohibited the 
adoration of any other deity. In this edict he styled himself the 
Lord of the Universe, the Creator of Nature, and the only true 
God. After this he published a second edict, which commanded 
his subjects to commemorate his birth-day, by the religious wor- 
ship of his idol, solemnly declaring that all such as were poor should 
become rich and great, the sick should be healed, and those who 
were at the point of death, should be restored to life, &c., in case 
they obeyed his injunctions. These promises were attended with 
awful menaces, and severe penalties, to be inflicted on all such as 
should presume to neglect the adoration of him. The religious 
dread which was inspired by these menaces, soon procured him an 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 41 

infinite number of devotees ; insomucli, that in a very short time, 
this modern god had the secret satisfaction to see himself revered 
without control, and his subjects all trembling at his altars. His 
son was the first that paid him divine honors. The court and all 
the nobility followed his royal example. The ceremony was per- 
formed before his image in the manner he prescribed. Some time 
after he was opposed by his subjects, who formed a conspiracy to 
tkke away his life, and burnt him accordingly in his own palace. 

They have likewise the idol Toranga, and his pagode. This 
hero of Japan was formerly a huntsman. He took possession of 
the empire soon after its first establishment ; and by his extraor- 
dinary merit, in process of time, was revered as one of their Camus, 
or demi-gods, and in consecjuence was ranged among the gods. 
He delivered Japan from a tyrant, who, with eight kings of the 
country, his confederates and allies, laid the empire waste ; upon 
which account it was thought proper to represent him with eight 
arms, and in each hand some weapon of defence. Toranga de- 
feated them with a hatchet only, and during the combat trod under 
foot a monstrous and formidable serpent, which is looked upon as 
an hieroglyphic at Japan. His Mia, situated in the province or 
kingdom of Vaeata, is remarkable for the four oxen which are 
gilded all over, and fixed, by w^ay of decoration, on the four corners 
of the roof that projects on all sides, according to the custom ob- 
served in the erection of all their Mias. The walls of this Mia is 
also embellished with the figures of several ancient Camus, or demi- 
gods of Japan, and the whole structure is raised after the same 
model with the rest. Several vagrants and beggars constantly as- 
semble before the door of this temple, and, as they sing the praises 
of the hero, beg the charity and benevolence of the public. 

There is a pagode at Miaco consecrated to a hieroglyphic bull, 
which is placed on a large square altar, and composed of solid 
gold ; his neck is adorned with a very costly collar ; but that is 
not the principal object that commands our attention. The egg, 
which he pushes with his horns as he gripes it between his fore- 
feet, is a most remarkable thing. This bull is placed on the 
summit of a rock, and the egg floats in some water, which is in- 
closed within the hollow space of it. The egg represents the 
chaos, and what follows is the illustration which the doctors of 
Japan have given of this hieroglyphic. The whole world, at 
the time of the chaos, was inclosed within this egg, which swam 
upon the surface of the waters. The moon, by virtue of her 
light and her other influences, attracted from the bottom of the 



42 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

^vaters a terrestrial substance, wWcli was insensibly converted to a 

■ rock, and by that means the egg rested upon it. The bull ob- 

■ serving this egg, broke the shell of it by goring it with his horns, 
i and so created the world ; and by his breath formed the human 

species. This fable may in some measure be reconciled with truth, 
by supposing that an ancient tradition had preserved amongst the 
Japanese some idea of the creation of tlie world ; but that, being 
led into an error in process of time, they ascribed the creation of 
the world to this animal, instead of the Supreme Being. The 
Egyptians, and the Indians after them, have also made' the egg a 
Symbol of the Universe. The former, to denote the creation, re- 
presented an egg as proceeding half way out of the mouth of the 
Deity ; and the latter assert, that, at first the Deity shot forth, 
out of a trunk, an egg of a moderate size ; but which immediately 
fomented to that degree that it became the world, in which we 
now reside. 

They have another emblem of the creation, which represents the 
Creator of the universe, seated on twelve cushions, (after the man- 
ner of the Japanese), placed upon the top of a trunk of a large 
tree, which is fixed on the back of a tortoise. This tortoise, as 
well as the bull, is to be seen at 3Iiaco. It is placed on the sur- 
face of some water, inclosed within a basin, the borders of which 
are raised about seven feet above the ground. The Creator is as 
black as a Moor, and has a crown upon his head, which runs up a 
considerable length into a point. His breast is bare, and his hair 
woolly, like a negro's. He has four arms and hands, with a ring 
in one, a sceptre in another, a flower in a third, and in the fourth. 
a vessel, or little fountain ; all of which are, doubtless, emblema- 
tical. These are all made of gold, as is also the trunk on which 
the god is seated. The drapery of the idol is covered with pre- 
cious stones. It is from the trunk of this tree, (in the opinion of 
the Japanese divines), which the tortoise carries on his back, that 
God the Creator extracted the primitive substance of all material 
things. A serpent of a monstrous size wreaths himself twice round 
this trunk. Two devils, or, to speak more properly, two tremen- 
dous figures, one of them having the head of a dog, and the other 
the horns of a stag, lay hold of the serpent's head ; and two kings 
of Japan, and a Sin, that is, a hero, or a demi-god, take hold of 
his tail. The two devils, or evil spirits, sworn enemies to the 
Creator, would have obstructed, if possible, the creation of the 
world. The Japanese being fully persuaded of the inveterate 
malice of those evil beings, inake their oblations to them, iu order 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 43 

to prevent tliem from destroying the products of the earth. The 
two kings, one of whom has four faces, and the Sin in conjunction 
with them, unanimously consented to the wicked projects of the 
two devils. The four faces of one of these kings signify the four 
thousand years during which he lived. From the bottom of the 
waters, on which the tortoise seems to lie immovable, appears 
sun, half risen, under the form of a middle-aged man, with a mo- 
derate beard, and crowned with rays. With his right hand he 
seems to goad the tortoise forward, and holds divers goods in his 
left. 

Apes and monkies — though one would scarcely believe it — are 
also worshiped, and have their pagodes in Japan ; but these, no 
doubt, are allegorical, as the former. In the middle of their pagode 
there is an ape, erected on a pedestal which stands on an altar, 
capacious enough, not only to contain both, but the oblations of the 
devotees also, together with a brass vessel, on which a Bonze 
drums, who stands near the altar, in order by this solemn sound to 
stir up the people's devotion and remind them of their religious 
duties. Under the vaulted roof, and in the walls of the pagode, 
there are numbers of apes of all kinds, in various attitudes, and 
still deeper in are several pedestals, like the one on the altar, with 
their respective apes upon them. Opposite to these pedestals 
there are other apes, with the oblations of their devotees before 
them. There is one thing to be offered, which will in some mea- 
sure palliate this act of devotion ; that is, their notion that the 
bodies of these animals, so nearly resembling the human species, 
are animated by human souls, even those of the grandees and 
. princes of the Empire. The universal chai'ity and indulgence of 
the Monks of Camasana, in Japan, to the brute creation, must be 
entirely ascribed to this received opinion. There is a hill not far 
from their convent, with an agreeable wood upon it, well stored 
with all manner of living creatures. These monks never fail to 
supply them, once at least every day, with food convenient for 
them. Their Provider-G-eneral calls them all together by the ring- 
ing of a little bell, and dismisses them with the same formality, as 
soon as they have finished their collation. These creatures-, say 
the charitable Bonzes, are animated by the souls of illustrious 
noblemen and heroes. If the Stag be not really the object of 
adoration among tlie devotees of Japan, at least it is looked upon 
with so great veneration and respect, that no one is permitted to 
make an attempt upon its life. Stags are to be seen as common in 
the streets and towns of Japan, as dogs are in Spain. No one 



44 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

presumes to molest them ; and in case any person should aeci- 
dentallj hurt one of them, it would cost him a large sum, if not his 
life, to make atonement for the misdemeanor. Should the stag 
happen to die from the wound he had received, the whole street 
"where the act was committed would be demolished, and the effects 
of all the inhabitants seized upon and forfeited, which goes into the 
public treasury. 

The Japanese have another idol, called Xaca, or Siaca. He is 
represented in the usual figure of a man sitting, according to the 
Japanese fashion, and extending his hand like a devotee or a doc- 
tor. He has a chain of gold shells, set with precious stones, about 
his neck ; several ribbons, at the end of which hang several little 
ornaments, like tufts or tassels, upon his arms, and a sUk girdle 
about his loins. Behind and before him are hung golden scales. 
The table on which Xaca sits is adorned with censers, hanging 
round about it by gold chains. They burn incense in them night 
and day, in honor of the Deity. This Xaca, as the rest of the 
Pagan Deities, may boast of devotees who delight in the most ex- 
travagant expressions of their veneration for him, since we are 
informed that they will even starve themselves to become his 
martyrs. 

There is a town near Miaco, peculiarly remarkable for the num- 
ber and magnificence of its pagodes, one of which includes above 
a thousand idols. In the middle of the temple there is a gigantic 
figure of an idol, having his ears bored, his head bald, and his chin 
shaved, much like a Braman. Over his head and the canopy that 
covers him, hang five or six little bells. On the right and left side 
of the throne on which this deity is sitting, there are several statues 
of armed men, Moors dancing, wizards, magicians and devils. 
There are also several representations of thunder and winds. 
Round about the walls of the temple, there are a thousand idols, all 
resembling Canon. Each idol is crowned, has thirty arms, and 
seven heads upon his breast. They are all made of solid gold ; 
every individual decoration belonging to them and to the temple, 
is likewise of the same precious metal. The multiplicity of arms 
and hands symbolically expresses the power of the idol. 

The Japanese have their asylums, or places of refuge. Xot far 
from ^liaco there is a mountain called Hoia, inhabited by Monks, 
whose laws and statutes are less severe than those of other Orders. 
Their convent is a sanctuary for the most flagrant offenders. The 
malefactor is not only secure whilst under their protection, but may 
purchase his liberty, if he is able, by depositing a certain sum for 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 45 

the service of the convent. One Hoboday was the founder of this 
Order, and he is adored amongst them as a god. Lamps are for- 
ever burning before this idol. To contribute towards the support 
of this foundation, is looked upon as an act truly meritorious. 
The J^Ionks of this Order apply themselves to trade and commerce. 
The person whose peculiar province it is to ring the horu's of the 
day, also gives the people notice of the time appointed for public 
prayers as well as preaching. Their discourses tiu-n only upon 
moral topics, and the preacher is exalted on a public rostrum or 
pulpit, much like those in our own churches. On one side of him 
is placed the tutelar idol of the sect or order whereof he is a mem- 
ber, to whom the true devotees present their free-will oblations. On 
each side of the pulpit there is a lighted lamp hanging from the 
canopy which covers it ; and a little below it is a kind of desk or pew 
for the junior fellows, where they are sitting and standing. 
The preacher wears upon his head a hat much like an umbrella, 
and holds a fan in his hand. Before he begins his sermon, 
he either is, or seems to be, very contemplative ; reflecting, no 
doubt, on what he intends to deliver. After this the preacher 
rings a little bell always ready at hand, which is the u^ual signal 
for silence. Then he opens a book containing the moral precepts 
and fundamental principles of the religion of the sect, which he 
lays upon his cushion before him. In the next place he takes his 
test, and illuminates it as he thinks proper. 

These ministers are masters of rhetoric ; their expressions are 
nervous, and their discourses are very methodical. The conclusion 
of them is always an eulogium on the Order to which they belong. 
A devotee must never forget his oblation nor his voluntary contri- 
butions towards the support of the religious houses where those 
holy persons reside, who by their prayers and good works reconcile 
you, and bring you into favor with the gods, &c. The audience 
must kneel to say their prayers, either before or after sermon ; and 
in order to give them due notice of it, he rings the beU used at 
other times to demand their silence. 

Japan abounds in every kind of cattle, more abundant because 
they do not castrate any creature. Thence it comes they are 
well supplied with horses, bulls, kine, swine, deer, wild boars, 
bears, dogs, &c. ; also with all kinds of fowl, such as swans, geese, 
ducks, herns, cranes, eagles, falcons, pheasants, pigeons, wood- 
cocks, quails, and all sorts of small birds. 

There are in this country several kinds of mineral waters, very 
good for divers diseases. Some have the taste and qualities of 



46 ■ JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

copper, others of saltpetre, iron, tin, and salt ; and among others, 
there is a spring of hot water having the taste of tin, and issues 
out of a cave which is about ten feet diameter at the mouth, having 
both above and below several p.ointed stones, like elephant's teeth, 
giving it a very odd and terrible appearance. The water which. 
comes out of it constantly in great bubbles, is not so hot but that it 
may be endured as soon as it is out of the spring, so that there is 
no need of mixing any other waiter with it. 

In a spacious plain, at the foot of a mountain, not far from the 
sea-side, there is another spring, which gives water twice only in 
twenty-four hours, during the space of an hour at each time, ex- 
cept it be when the .east wind blows, when it gives water four times 
a day. This water comes out of a hole which nature has made 
in the ground, and which the people have covered with several 
large stones ; but when the time of its flood is come, the water is 
forced out with such violence among the stones that it shakes them 
all, and makes a Cast twenty or twenty-four feet high, with such 
noise as would drown that of a great gun. It is so hot that it is 
impossible fire should raise ordinary water to so high a degree of 
heat as the earth gives this ; for it immediately bu.rns the stuffs on 
which it falls, and keeps its heat much longer than the water that 
has been boiled over' the fire. The well is inclosed with a high 
wall, having at its bottom several holes, through which the water 
runs into certain channels, and so is brought into the houses where 
they bathe themselves, reducing it to such a degree of warmth as 
may be endured. 

Some afiirm that their physicians are so able that there is no 
disease which they cannot discover by the pulse. They are per- 
fectly well skilled in the virtues of simples and drugs, especially 
those of the radix chinab and rhuharh^ used in their recipes, which 
for the most part consist in. pills, with very good success. They 
are also very fortunate in the curing of ordinary diseases ; but 
surgery is not yet known among them. 

The mineral waters are a sufficient demonstration that there are 
in Japan mines of all kinds of metals. Already there has been 
found gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, and lead. The country 
brings forth also cotton, flax, and hemp, fi'om which they make 
very fine cloths. It produces also silk, and affords abundance of 
goat and deer skins, the richest works of wood and laeque of any in 
the world, and all kinds of provisions and medicinal drugs. 

The Portuguese came to the knowledge of Japan, by means 
of the trade they drove in the kingdom of Siam and Cambodia. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 47 

THey found it no hard matter to settle tliere ; inasmucli as the 
Japanes had not at first any aversion for their ecclesiastical ceremo- 
nies, so that in a short time the Etonian Catholic religion got such 
footing there, that they were permitted to build churches in seve- 
ral places of the kingdom, and particularly at Nangasacke. But 
the Spaniards persuaded the Japanese first to set upon and after- 
wards to burn their ships, and in the year 1636 they banished them 
the country, with prohibitions, upon pain of death, not to return 
to it. 

The Dutch have traded thither since the year 1611, and stUl 
continue it, much to their advantage. Their commerce to Japan 
is worth to them more than all the rest of the Indies. They af- 
firm, in the relation of the voyage they made thither in the year 
1598, that the city of Meaco is twenty-one leagues in circumfe- 
rence. 

The air is good and healthy, though more inclined to cold than 
heat ; and yet the Japanese sow their corn about the beginning of 
May, and do not cut the rice tUl September. 

They have neither butter nor oil, and have an aversion against 
milk, imagining that the souls of beasts reside in it, and that it is 
blood in effect, though of a different color. They do not eat the 
flesh of either bulls or kine, nor that of any tame beast, but love 
wild fowl and venison, and are much addicted to the huntiog there- 
of They have cedar trees so large that they make pillars of 
them for their greatest edifices, and masts for their ships. y 

Poverty is not so criminal or infamous in Japan, as it is in seve- 1 1 
ral parts of Europe, where the rich are only accounted virtuous; ;l 
and they hate calumniators, swearers, and gamesters. M 

They are more of a brownish complexion than white ; strong 
and well set, and with incredible patience undergo labor and the 
inconveniences of the seasons. They endure hunger and thirst, 
heat and cold, without any trouble ; and are clothed in winter the 
same as in summer. 

To show how very various and different the customs of the world 
are, we will mention a few other particulars concerning the Ja- 
panese. We pull off our hats when we salute one another, but the 
Japanese their shoes. We alwaj^s rise to pay our respects to such 
friends as favor us with a visit — they, on the contrary, look on it as 
a compliment to sit down on such occasions. We throw off our 
cloaks as soon as we come home — they, on the contrary, put them 
on. The Japanese physicians seldom or never practice Phleboto- 
my, and prescribe salts and acids in such cases as om-s administei 



4q' JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

balsamics. ■ Their patients are indulged in everything their appe- 
tites suggest, whereas ours are restrained, and obliged to observe 
the strictest regimen ; and yet their patients recover as frequently 
as we do under our doctors. When their patients are afflicted with 
a violent fever, they make use of golden bodkins, with which they 
lightly penetrate the skin in various parts of the body. In other 
distempers, they generally make up little balls of dried herbs, 
which they apply externally on different parts of the body, and 
then set them on fire, and let them burn till they drop off of them- 
selves. 



THE ISLAND OF FOKMOSA. 

We will now proceed to give an account of the Island of 
Formosa, or the Fair Island, this being a place where the inhabi- 
tants of Japan carry on a great trade with the Chinese, they being 
prohibited from coming to China. 

This Island is about an hiindred and thirty leagues in circum- 
ference, and contains many villages and an infinite number of 
people, who acknowledge no king nor sovereign, and have no other 
superiors over them but such as they make among themselves, 
after the manner to be related. Its rivers are excellently well stored 
with fish ; its forests well furnished with all sorts of wild fowl and 
venison ; and its fields, which are for the most part meadows, in a 
manner covered with cattle. They have deer, wild goats, hares, 
rabbits, pheasants, patridges, pigeons, &c., and besides these a kind 
of horned horse, called by the inhabitants Olavang, whose horns 
are like those of deer, and the flesh very delicate. They have 
also tigers, and another kind of animal called Tirney, made like a 
bear, but much stronger. The skin of this beast is accounted by 
them to be one of the most precious things that the island 
produces. 

The ground here is flat and fruitful, but so poorly cultivated 
that there are very few fruit trees, and the little fruit they bear is 
so bad, that though the islanders eat it with some delight, yet other 
nations cannot so much as taste of it. Ginger and cinnamon grow 
in this island. There has been found here gold and silver mines, 
whereof the Chinese have sometimes made trial ; but it is more 
than the Dutch could ever discover. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 49 

Tlie places in this Island which the Dutch have most frequented 
are Sinkan, Mandauw, Toulang, Taffacang, Tifulucang, Teosang, 
and Tefurang, which are all within a small distance of the Fort 
Tayouang ; so that they may be all gone to in two days, save only 
the village of Tefurang, which lies in the mountains, at a day and 
a half's journey at least from the habitations of the Dutch. The 
rest lay as it were upon the sea-side, and have all the same manner 
of life, the same religion, and almost the same language. 

The men are strong and hardy, much larger than any of the 
Europeans. Their bodies are hairy all over, and they are of a 
brown complexion, inclining to black, as most of the Indians are. 
The women are somewhat less in size, but fat enough, and, for the 
most part, well shaped. 

The people are good-natured, faithful, and obliging, entertaining 
strangers with much kindness and civility, and communicating to 
them such good cheer as nature aifords them. It has never been 
found that they were desirous to get what belongs to any other by 
indirect means, but, on the contrary, they have often returned to 
the owners what they found mislaid or lost. They are constant and 
faithful in their friendship, and religiously observe, as well the 
treaties they make among themselves, as those made with foreigners. 
Treachery is a thing they are so unacquainted with, that there is 
no misfortune which they would not suffer leather than any reproach 
should be made them of unfaithfulness. They want neither in- 
genuity nor memory, but easily apprehend and retain what is said 
unto them. It is true, they have a humor of impudently begging 
anything they see ; but they are denied with the same freedom, 
and are satisfied with a small matter. 

They live altogether by the little husbandry they carry on, and 
the rice they get out of the ground : not but that their lands are 
very fruitful, but they have no ploughs, nor beasts fit for tillage. 
They have no other way of breaking up the ground than by the 
spade, in the hands of women — as the men mind only war and 
hunting — so their increase cannot be so great as that of those 
places where they have better conveniences. Another employ- 
ment of the women is, to transplant the rice when it grows thicker 
in one place than in another ; which work, and the cutting of it 
when ripe, takes up much of their time, for, instead of reaping it 
by handfuls with a hook, they cut it corn by corn, some four or 
five fingers below the ear, put it up in the house, and never beat it 
but when necessary for their subsistence, that is, every day. The 
woman of the house sets over night two or three little bundles of 



50 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

it a drying in the chimney-corner, and rising the nest morning two 
hours before day, she beats it in a mortar, and makes as much 
clean rice as is requisite for the family that day, and no more. 
And thus they live during the whole year. 

They sow also two or three kinds of fruit, which they call 
ptingh^ quaco^ and tarann, somewhat like millet, also a kind of 
pulse, much like the French bean. They have also several sorts 
of roots, which they use instead of bread, and which in effect are 
suflRcient to sustain thera, though they had no rice nor any other 
kind of fruit or corn. They have ginger, cinnamon, sugar-canes, 
bananas, lemons, abundance of areca, and several other sorts of 
fruits, simples, and pulse, not known in this country. 

They make a kind of beverage, which is as strong and intoxi- 
cates a man's brains as soon as the best sack. Their way of 
making it is thus : — In warm water,, they set a certain quantity of 
rice soaking, which they afterwards beat in a mortar till it be re- 
duced to a paste. Then they chew some rice-meal in their mouths, 
which they spit into a pot, till such time as they have obtained a 
quart of liquor, which they put to the paste, instead of leaven ; and 
after they have kneaded all well together, till they have brought 
it to baker's dough, they put it into a great earthen pot, which they 
fill up with water, and let it remain there for two months. By 
this means they make one of the best and most pleasant liquors 
that a man need drink. This is their wine, which is stronger or 
weaker, according to the time it remains in the pot ; and the older 
it is, the better and sweeter it is. They sometimes keep it five 
and twenty or thirty years. What is towards the mouth of the 
pot is as clear as rock water, but at the bottom there are only 
dregs, such as are sufficient to turn a weak stomach ; and yet the 
islanders make it one of their delicacies, and eat it with spoons, 
having first stirred it about, with a little water put into it. "When 
they go into the country, they carry along with them a little pot of 
this stuff, and a gourd-bottle full of water, and so they are fur- 
nished with meat and drink. They make use of the upper part 
of this beverage as a dram, to comfort the heart, and eat what is 
in the bottom ; whence it comes that they spend most part of their 
rice in this composition. 

"When the women have no work to do about their grounds, 
they go a-fishing, and particularly to get oysters, which the 
islanders prefer above all meat whatever. They have a way of 
salting the fish slightly as soon as it is taken, with the shell, and 
whatever is within it, and they eat them, for the want of salt, with 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 51 

all the filtli, nay, with the worms, which sometimes are hrod within 
them. 

The men, especially the younger sort, to the age of twenty-four 
to twenty-five years, do nothing at all ; but when they are come to 
forty, they help to do something about the grounds, where they con- 
tinue night and day with their wives, in little huts, and return not 
to the village till some necessity or diversion calls them thither. 

They have several kinds of hunting, and use, in their sport, 
snares, slender pikes, and bows and arrows. They spread their 
snares or nets in the woods, cross those paths which the deers and 
wild boars are wont to make, and force those creatures into them ; 
or else, they spread them in the open fields, with the convenience 
of a great cane, one end of which they plant in the ground and 
the other is bowed down, and fastened to certain little sticks, upon 
which they lay a snare covered with a little earth, which, as soon 
as the wild beast touches, the cane is suddenly, as it were, unbent, 
and catches him by one of the feet. The hunting with pikes is 
done thus : — The inhabitants of two or three villages, being armed 
with tw.o or three pikes, meet together at a certain place appointed, 
and having divided themselves into several parties, they send their 
dogs into the woods, to drive out the game into the fields, where 
they meet, and make a great ring, a league or more in circumfe- 
rence, within which, when they have once gotten the deer and 
wild boars, it seldom happens that any of them escape without be- 
ing killed or hurt. The pike itself is of cane, six or seven feet in 
length, having an iron at the top, with several hooks, so that having 
entered into the beast, it is beyond any man's strength to get it 
out ; yet the iron is not made so fast to the wood, but it comes off 
at the first bush the beast runs into ; and to the end it may still 
annoy the deer, there is a cord fastened to it, which holds both, 
and at the top of the iron there is a little bell, by which the beast 
is discovered wherever it goes. They destroy so great a number 
of deer by this kind of hunting, that not being able to spend all 
they take themselves, they sell the flesh of them to the Chinese, 
for little garments, sweet-wood, and other commodities, eating 
themselves only the umbles and paunch, which they salt with the 
filth in them, and indeed care not much for them, till when they 
are thus corrupted. Sometimes, while they are hunting, they 
cut ofi"a piece and eat it immediately, so that the blood runs about 
their mouths ; and if they find any young ones in the belly of the 
female, whether having come to any form or not, they eat them 
with the skin and hair, as a thing very delicate. 



52 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

Their militaiy engagements are ttus prosecuted : — They nsTer 
begin any war till they have first dechxred it against the village by 
which they conceive themselves injured, and then they go by 
small parties of five-and-tvrenty or thirty men, and hide them- 
selves near the fields ; and if they find any in the huts, where 
aged persons reside, they kill them, cut ojBf then- heads, and if they 
have time enough, the hands and feet, and sometimes they cut the 
whole body to pieces, that every one may carry away his share, 
and show the marks of his courage at his return. If the country 
take the alarm, so as they cannot quite cut oflfthe head, they think 
it enough to cut ofi" the hair, which they carry away as a noble de- 
monstration of their victory ; which is accounted amoDg them a 
very considerable one, though in sit exploit of this nature there 
happens to be but one man killed. Sometimes they Tenture so far 
as to enter into the village, and break open some house, but be- 
cause that cannot be done without noise, they go upon such a de- 
sign with so much precipitation, that lest they should be intercepted 
in their return, they kill all they meet, and then flee. They also 
use stratagems, and make ambushes, according to their way, and 
sometimes they engage in the open field, where they fight with 
great animosity ; but the death of one man passes among them 
for an absolute defeat, and obliges those who have sustained that 
loss to make an immediate retreat. 

The pikes they use in their wars are made in a different manner 
from those they hunt with — the iron at the top having no branches 
nor hooks, and is made quite fast to the body of the pike. Their 
bucklers are so large that they nearly cover the whole body ; their 
swords, on the contrary, are short, but broad. They use also 
knives, made like those of the Japanese, and bows and arrows. 

When several villages make an association among themselves to 
carry on a war jointly against other villages, the command of their 
forces is not bestowed on one chief, who has authority sufficient to 
force himself to be obe5'ed ; but such among them as have been so 
fortunate as to cut off divers heads upon several occasions, find 
volunteers enough to follow them in their military exploits, from 
no other consideration than that of participating of the glory of 
their commander. They think it enough to bring away the hair, 
or even only a pike belonging to their enemies, for which they 
make a solemn triumph, and appoint a day of thanksgiving. They 
carry the heads in procession all about the village, singing hymns 
to their gods, and, in their way, visit their friends, who make them 
drink of the best arracJc, and accompany them to the pagodo, 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 63 

where they boil the head till there be nothing left htit the bones, 
on which they sprinkle some wine, sacrifice several swine to their 
gods, and feast for fifteen days together. They do the same when 
they have brought home only the hair or a pike, which, with the 
bones of their enemies, they keep as carefully as we do gold, silver, 
or jewels. When a house is on fire, they abandon all to save these 
relics. They tender great respect to those who have had the good 
fortune to bring home an enemy's head, and no person comes near 
him but with a certain veneration, for fifteen days after his doing 
such an exploit, nor speak to him, unless with such extraor- 
dinary submissions as that a sovereign prince could not expect 
greater. 

There is no lord in this island that has any superiority or advan- 
tage over the rest of the people. Their condition is equal, save 
that in ererj village there is a kind of senate, consisting of twelve 
persons, which are changed every two years. The two years 
being expired, those who quit their places pull ofi" their hair from 
their eye-brows, and on both sides of their heads, to show that 
they have been magistrates. ,The senators are chosen from per- 
sons much about the same age, about forty years ; for though 
they have no almanac, and cannot reckon their years, yet they re- 
member well enough the course of the moon, and take particular 
notice of those who are born within the same month, and about 
the same year. This magistrate has no authority to force himself 
to be obeyed, or to put his commands in execution. All the 
power he has, is only to give orders for an assembly to be held, 
concerning such affairs as may be thought of importance, to 
confer among theiuselves thereof, and to invite all the heads of 
families to meet in one of their pagodes, where they state to them 
how things stand, propose what they think fit to be done, and 
endeavor to bring the rest to be of the same opinion with them- 
selves. All the senators speak one after another, and use all the 
eloquence they possess to press their reasons the more home. 
They will speak half an hour together, using such high expres- 
sions, with so much ease, and with such apt gestures, that 
what we are taught by art comes near what nature has bestowed 
on these people, who can neither read nor write. While one 
speaks, all the rest are perfectly silent, and not so much as a cough 
can be heard, though their assemblies many times consist of a 
thousand persons. When all the senators have done speaking, the 
rest put the business to deliberation, with an absolute freedom of 
either complying with the judgment of the senate, or opposinp- '' , 



54 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

after tliey liavc considered the good or eyil wliicli may accrue to 
them thereby. 

All the power these magistrates have, consists in causing what 
their priestesses command to be put into execution, in preventing 
aught to be done which may offend the gods, and in punishing 
such as do offend them. They also make reparations to private 
persons who have been injured by others ; not by causing the of- 
fenders to be imprisoned or punished with death, or other corporal 
punishments, but in condemning them to pay a piece of cloth, a 
deer-skin, a certain quantity of rice, or a pot of their arrack^ by 
way of satisfaction, according to the character of the crime. 

There is a certain season of the year, in which they go entirely 
naked, saying they do it from the consideration, that if they did 
not do so, the gods would not cause it to rain, and the rice would 
not grow. If, during the time the senators meet with any one that 
Las aught about his waist, the cloth, or whatsoever it be, is confis- 
cated, and he is adjudged to a penalty, which at most is but two 
deer-skins, or a certain quantity of rice, amounting to the same 
value. Accordingly it is one of the principal functions of the 
senators during this time, morning and evening, to be about the 
avenues of the village, and to punish those they find delinquent. 

The senators, on the other hand, are obliged to observe a certain 
manner of life, about the time that the rice grows ripe ; for, during 
that time, they are forbidden drinking to excess, the eating of 
sugar and fat, and chewing of Areca, being persuaded, that the 
people would not only slight them, but also that the gods would 
send the deer and wild boars into the rice to destroy it. 

The magistrate has no power to punish murder, theft or adul- 
tery ; but such as are injured do themselves justice. When the 
theft is discovered, he who has been robbed, goes, accompanied by 
his friends, to find the person who has robbed him, and takes 
cut of his house what he thinks sufficient to make him satisfaction, 
by an accommodation he makes with the other ; but if he finds any 
opposition, he declares open hostility against him, till such time as 
he has made him satisfaction. He who finds himself injured in his 
reputation, by adultery committed with his wife, revenges himself 
another way, viz : he takes out of the house of the adulterer, two 
or three pigs, as a satisfaction for the injury he has received. The 
friends and relations on both sides settle the differences arising be- 
tween private persons, in the case of murder, and to regulate the 
civil concernment. 

Among them there is so great an equality of condition, that they 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE, 55 

are yet ignorant of the terms master and servant. But this does 
not, however, hinder their rendering great honor one to another, 
and express a great respect for and submission to one another ; 
not from any consideration of a more eminent dignity, or upon the 
account of wealth, but only upon that of age, which is so consid- 
ered among them, that a young man is obliged to go aside to make 
way for an old man, and turn his back to him, as a mark of re- 
spect, till he has passed, and continuing in that posture, even though 
the old man should stand still to speak to him. No young man 
dares deny doing what the other commands him, though he should 
send him three or four leagues upon some business of his. They 
are the ancient men who have the chiefest places, and are the first 
served at feasts. 

As to their marriages, the men are not permitted to marry till 
they are twenty or twenty-one years of age, which they call Saat 
Caffi.it toang. Till they are sixteen or seventeen they are forbid- 
den to wear long hair, so they cut it even with the tip of the ear ; 
and as they have neither scissors or razors, to do that work they 
make use of a kind of little chopping-knife, lay down the hair upon 
a piece of wood, and cut it as exactly as the most expert barbers. 
They draw out the hair of their faces with little pincers of brass 
or iron, or with the string of a great cane, which they double, and 
getting the hair fast between it, they turn the string till the hair 
is taken out. In the seventeenth year of their age, they let their 
hair grow, and when it is come to its ordinary length, they begin 
to think of marriage. Maids never cut their hair, and are married 
as soon as they are marriageable. 

Their marriages are contracted thus : — The young gallant who 
has an inclination to a maid, sends his mother, sister, or some 
kinswoman, to the relations of the maid, to show them what he in- 
tends to bestow on his mistress. If they receive his addresses 
kindly, and are satisfied as to his estate, the marriage is immedi- 
ately concluded, so that the young man may consummate it the 
night following. The wealth which the most able among them 
send to their brides, consists of seven or eight of their scarfs of 
silk or cotton, with which the women cover themselves about the 
waist, as many little waistcoats of the same stuff, three or four 
hundred bracelets of canes, ten or twelve rings of lattin, or deer's 
horn, which are so broad that they hide half the fingers, and so 
thick that when the ladies have them on, they are rather a trouble 
than an ornament to them, four or five girdles of coarse cloth, 
ten or twelve little vestments, which they call Ethgrao^ and ars 



56 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

made of dog's hair, twenty or tweuty-five cangas, or CMaa gar- 
ments, a bag of dog's hair, as large as a mau can well carry, which 
they call in their language Ayam mamiang^ a kind of head-gear, 
made like a mitre of straw and dog's hair, and lastly, four or five 
pair of stockings of deer-skin, so that all put together may amount 
to about forty crowns at most. Others, who are not so rich, give 
only three or four bracelets, and certain garments, all not amount- 
ing to more than two or three crowns. 

The marriage being thus concluded, the young gallant goes in 
the evening to his bride, at her father's house, and endeavors to 
get in by stealth, shunning both fire and light, lest he should be 
seen, and so creeps into the bed, where the marriage is consum- 
mated. This he does for many years after his marriage, leaving 
before day, and returning at night to his wife, so concealing him- 
self from those of the household, that to call to his wife for to- 
bacco, or any thing else he stands in need of, he only hems, and 
permits her to return to the company she was in before. The rea- 
son why this course is pursued, is, that it is thought a shame for 
her to leave her relations, to go to her husband. Their bedsteads 
are made of bamboos, or canes. A baven serves for a bolster, and 
a deer-skin for a bed and all things belonging to it. 

The women live thus with their fathers, and till the ground 
belonging to the family, while the husband lives at his own house, 
and provides only for himself. They never see one another in the 
day-time, imless they appoint it to be in some remote place, where 
they may not be seen speaking together ; or, unless the young 
man goes to the house, when he knows there is no body but his 
wife at home ; yet he will not enter, till, he sends some one to 
know whether it may be done without any inconvenience to her. 
If she thinks fit he should see her, she comes to the door, and 
makes him a sign to enter ; but if she desires not his company, 
she sends him away. The children they have remain with the 
mother till they are thirteen years of age, and then the father 
takes them home. 

As soon as a Formosan is weary of his wife, he leaves her, and 
marries another ; with this difference, however, that if he puts her 
away without a cause, the presents he sent her shall remain hers ; 
but if she be convicted of adultery, or chance to be so transported 
with passion as to revile her husband in words, or afi"ront him other- 
wise, she is bound to make restitution. Divorce is reciprocally 
free to both parties, so that wedlock no more obliges the women 
than it does the men ; and it often happens that both of them 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 57 

change tlieir conditions. They condemn polygamy, tliougli some 
of them marry two or three wives. But as there is neither law 
nor magistrate to punish any crime wherein there is no civil con- 
cernment, this remains unpunished, as well as adultery ; for, pro- 
vided they can conceal it from their own wives, and her husband, 
■whom they abuse, they may confidently and without any scandal, 
seek their fortunes elsewhere. A man never finds any incestuous 
marriages among them ; nor that a man takes a wife within four 
degrees of consanguinity or affinity ; nor do they care a man should 
ask after their wives, as how they do, whether they be handsome or 
not, of what friends they come, &c. 

Boys, from four years of age and upwards, nay, married men, 
when they do not lodge with their wives, lie not in their houses, 
but in a pagode or mosquite, where the males of fourteen or fifteen 
families meet in the evening, and lie there upon little couches or 
bedsteads of canes. 

Their houses are spacious, and fairer than those ordinarily 
seen in the Indies. They are all raised five or sis feet from the 
ground, and have four doors, one towards every quarter of the 
compass ; sqoie have two of a side, and are three or four stories high. 
They have no other ornament than what they obtain from the 
Leads of deer and wild boars, with which they~ are covered both 
•within and without. You find in them only certain stuifs with 
■which they cover themselves ; and deer-skins, which in their trade 
with the Chinese, is to them instead of money. All the household 
stuff they have in their houses, are only spades to dig the ground 
with, pikes, bows, arrows, and some other arms. But what they 
account most precious, are the heads or other trophies taken from 
their enemies. Instead of dishes, they 'use little troughs of wood, 
such as among us are set before swine. Their drinking-pots are of 
earth or cane ; and they also boil their rice in earthen pots. 

Rice is their ordiuaiy subsistence ; and if they put either fish or 
flesh with it, they eat not of it till it be corrupted and full of 
worms. Their drink is not bad, especially to those who have not 
over weak stomachs, or know not how it is made ; but on the con- 
trary, it is wholesome and very pleasant. 

They haA'e no set day for either rest or devotion, and keep no 
holydays ; yet they do meet on certain days to be merry, and make 
good cheer ; every quarter meeting for that purpose, in its own pa- 
gode, whither the women also come, dressed in the richest things 
they have, and clad after such a manner as one cannot well de- 
scribe. Their richest clothing is made of dog's hair. As we shear 



58 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

sheep to make woollen stuflFs of, so tbey cut off the hair of their 
dogs once a-year, and dying it red, make stuffs of it, which they 
esteem as highly as we do velvet or the best scarlet. 

The ceremonies here performed upon the death of any one are 
very remarkable. Immediately after the decease of any one, they 
heat a drum before his door to acqudnt the village therewith. 
This drum is made of the trunk of a large tree, so that it may be 
heard at a great distance, and upon that noise all the people come 
to the door of the deceased. The women each bring a pot of their 
arrack, and having sufficiently drank to the memory of the deceased, 
they commence dancing upon a great empty round chest, so that 
their motion, which is not very violent, makes a dull and doleful 
noise, suitable to the sorrow they would express. Eight or ten 
women at a time get upon the chest, in two ranks, who turn their 
backs one to another, and gently moving their arms and feet, go 
several times about the chest, till such time as they think fit to 
make way for others ; and this exercise continues about two hours. 
The next day, or two days after, they begin to think of the body, 
not in order to burial, as we do, nor to burn it, but to dry it. To 
do that, they make in some part of the house a scaffold of canes, 
raised five or six feet from the ground, to which they fasten the 
body by the hands and feet, and they make a great fire about it to 
dry it, killing, in the meantime, a great many swine, and feasting 
for nine days together ; during which time they wash the body 
every day, yet that does not hinder the whole house, nay, indeed, 
the neighborhood, from being infected. After nine days, it is taken 
away, to be wrapt up in a mat, after which they place it on another 
scaffold, higher than the former, and surrounded with several gar- 
ments like a pavilion, and then they reiterate their dancing and 
feasting. The body remains in this condition till the third year, 
and then they take the bones out of it, and bury them in some 
part of the house, with the same ceremonies of feasting and 
dancing. 

At the village of Theosang, they have an extraordinary custom 
They fasten a rope about the necks of those who suffer much pain 
in their sickness, raise them up by force to a great height, and let 
them fiill down with great violence ; by which means they are in- 
deed put out of all further pain. 

As to religion, it may be said they have but very little. Of all 
the inhabitants, not one can read or write, and yet they have cer- 
tain traditions upon which they have framed a certain shadow of 
religion ; for they believe the world has been from all eternity, and 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 59 

sliall last eternally. They believe the immortality of the soul ; 
and thence it comes, that when any one dies, they build before his 
door a little hut of boughs of trees, set banners at the four corners, 
and within the hut a wooden vessel full of water, with a cane 
spoon, being persuaded that the souls of the deceased return every 
day to the hut, to purify themselves. It is true, most of them do 
it purely in compliance with custom, knowing not the reason why ; 
but aged persons are not ignorant of it. They believe also that souls 
shall find good or evil in the other life, according to what they 
have done in this, and affirm, that to go out of this world into the 
other, they pass over a very narrow bridge of canes, under which 
runs a channel full of all kind of filth, into which the wicked being 
fallen, do there languish eternally ; but that the good souls pass 
into a pleasant and delightful country, of which they speak, much 
after the manner the poets speak of the Elysian fields. But there 
are very few who comprehend these mysteries, or think of any 
other life than the present. 

They adore several pretended divinities, among them two — one 
called Taviagisanhach and the other Sariahsingh. The former 
has his abode in the south, and contributes to the generation of 
man, who receives from this god only what is excellent and accep- 
table either in his body or mind. They affirm that his wife, whom 
they call Taxankpanda, lives in the east, from whence she is 
heard when it thunders towards that quarter, speaking to her hus- 
band, Tamagisanhach, and chiding him for suffering the earth to 
be too long without rain, and her husband causes it immediately to 
rain. The other god (Sariahsingh,) has his retreat in the north, 
and destroys all the excellency which Tamagisanhach has bestowed 
on man, by disfiguring his face with the small-pox, and sending 
him several other conveniences. Whence it comes they invoke 
them both — one that they may not be injured by him, and the 
other that they may prevent Sariasingh from doing them any mis- 
chief. Besides these, they have two other gods, who have the 
oversight of war, named Talasula and Tajpcdiape ; but they are 
invoked only by the men. 

"We believe that there is not any nation but makes use of men 
in their religious service of their divinity, but here the women only 
are employed for the purpose. They call them Inibs, and all their 
worship consists of prayer and sacrifices. The sacrifices and of- 
ferings which they make their gods, are swine, rice, areca, some of 
their kind of drink, deer, and wild boar's heads. Having fed 
heartily upon them, the priestesses rise, and make a long prayer, 



60 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE 

during which one shall see their eyes turning in their heads ; they 
then fall to the ground, and make dreadful cries and shrieks. Af- 
ter these eflforts, they lie down upon the ground, immovable as sta- 
tues, and become so heavy that five or six persons can hardly raise 
them. It is while they are in this posture, as they afiirm, that 
their gods communicate themselves to them, for an hour or more. 
Then they get on the top of the pagode, go from one end of it to 
the other, and there say their prayers again ; which being ended, 
they strip themselves entirely naked. 

Every house has a particular place appointed for the devotions 
of the family, where they invocate the gods, and where the women 
make their offerings of what is spent every day in the house ; but 
in case of sickness, or some other misfortune, they call the Inibs to 
do that ser\'ice, which is performed with many extravagant cere- 
monies. They also pretend to foretell good and ill fortune, rain 
and fair weather, and to have the power to drive away the devil, 
after a very ridiculous manner. They pursue him with a great 
noise, having a Japanese knife in their hand, and afiirm that by 
that means, they drive him away so far as that he is forced to 
cast himself into the sea, or at least into some river, where he is 
drowned. There are to be seen also at cross-ways and upon great 
roads a kind of altars, laden with offerings for their gods, and many 
other absurd devotions may be observed among them, which the 
Dutch have endeavored to abolish by degrees, by introducing 
Christianity into the country, in which they have hitherto had 
very good success. 

The ceremonies observed among the Formosans at the placing of 
the first bamboo of a house, but more particularly that of a tem- 
ple, which bears a very near affinity to our laying the first stone, 
are very particular. Upon cutting the bamboo, a particular prayer 
is addressed to the Deity who presides over the building. Before 
they enter upon their work, a considerable quantity of pinang and 
rice are presented to the gods, who are formally invited to come 
and take possession of their new tenement, to protect it, &c. Af- 
ter this, every one present is obliged to give an account of what 
dreams he had the preceding night ; and he who was the most 
happy in his slumbers, sets the first hand to the new undertaking. 
He presents pinang, and some such li(|uor as is pu-ovided for that 
purpose, to the gods, and begs of them to incline him to be dili- 
gent and industrious. When the fiibric is reared to a certain height, 
the proprietor goes in and makes an oblation for every one present, 
witliout exception. When they have made such progress as that 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 61 

nothing is wanting but to raise tlie roof, before it is covered, there 
are several particular women employed to discover by their art of 
divination, whether the edifice will be durable. For this purpose ; 
they take bamboos, and fill them with water, and squirt it out of 
their mouths. The manner in which this stream flows down upon ""y] 
the ground, determines the duration of the fabric. The cere- , 
mony concludes in a long series of excessive drinking, in honor to . ,;. 
the gods who are invited to their revels by a form of prayer, in a 
which they implore their aid and assistance, and present them 
a biompe?-. The sacrifice of a hog is a kind of assurance of good 
success to the new erection, as well as to the proprietor. The 
head of the victim which is sacrificed, must be turned towards 
the east, because the god who resides in that quarter is superior to 
all the rest. The victim is cut all to pieces, but in such a man- 
ner as that the head is preserved entire : And those sacred relics 
are laid upon everything on which they are desirous to draw down the 
benediction of the gods — on their coifers, for instance, that they 
may be filled with riches ; on their swords and bucklers, that they 
may be inspired with courage and resolution to vanquish their ene- 
mies, &c. As to the priestess, she is always handsomely recom- 
pensed for her prayers and pains ; besides which, she is always al- 
lowed a considerable share of the sacrifice, and always maintains 
her interest in these idolaters, who imagine, after such sacrifices, 
the devil dares not touch the least thing whatever which belongs to 
them. 

Their festivals are spent, for the most part, in the sacrifice of 
hogs. They drink at them to great excess, and recount their 
dreams, their debauches, and their triumphs, &c., and sometimes 
they strip themselves naked when they pay their adoration to their 
deities. At some of their festivals, the men will appear all naked, 
at others the women, and sometimes again the men and the women 
promiscuously, without any regard to decency or distinction of 
sex. The extravagant deportment of the sect called the Ada- 
miieSj who used to strip themselves naked in their assemblies, seve- 
ral years ago, makes this practice of the Formosans somewhat 
more easy to be believed. 



JAPANESE ISLANDS. 



[From Malte Beun's Geography, 3 vols., 4to. Boston : 1836.] 



JAPAN ; THE ISLANDS OF lESSO ; THE KURILE, AND LOO-CHOO 
ISLANDS. CRITICAL INQUIRIES ON lESSO. 

To the east of Mantchooria lies the basin of the Sea of Japan, 
the north end of which has been named by La Perouse, the Chan- 
nel of Tartary. Steep shores, destitute of large rivers, surround 
this dark, foggy, and tempestuous mediterranean. On the north 
it communicates by two straits with the Sea. of Okhotsk. One of 
them, near the mouth of the river Amur, separating the continent 
from Seghalien Island, is choked up with sand covered with reeds, 
and does not admit the passage even of a small boat. La Perouse 's 
Strait, known formerly under the name of the Strait of Tessoi, 
affords, on the east, a passage into the Sea of lesso, a part of the 
Sea of Okhotsk. The Strait of Songaar forms a communication 
between the Sea of Japan and the great Eastern Ocean, or rather, 
what is called the Northern Pacific. On the south, the Strait of 
Corea opens into the Chinese seas. A chain of considerable islands 
forms the barrier by which the Japanese Mediterranean is separated 
from the Grreat Ocean ; and this chain, which is more than sisteen 
hundred miles* long, is connected again with the Kurile Islands on 
the north-east and with those of Loo-choo on the south. The 
Japanese occupy the greater part of these islands. 

In the north of the Japanese Empire, two great islands form, 
with a number of small ones, an independent Archipelago. It is 
here that geographical criticism amused itself with sketching the 
famous country of lesso. At first it was believed that this country, 
known by its connection with Japan, was a continent or a large 
island between Asia and America ; then it was confounded with 

* " 600 Fr. leagues." 



64 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

Kamtcliatka, or rather was joined with the country then called 
Russian-Tartary, for Kamtchatka was not known till 1696. 

At last, the voyage of the Dutch navigator, De Vries, command- 
ing the sliip Castricom, threw the first ray of light on this part of 
the world. It was found to a certainty that these lands were as 
much separated from the continent of xlsia on the north-east as 
from Japan on the south. But three points continued doubtful. 
The land seen by De Vries presented one well marked island, the 
States Island ; but to the east, the extent of the Company's Land 
was vaguely understood. Some accounts of little authenticity, and 
among others that of Jean de Gama, gave rise to the idea that this 
land extended to America. On the other hand, the Castricom 
having coasted the land of Matsumai or lesso on the east and 
north-east, was repelled from the Strait of Tessoi by the currents. 
The fogs prevented her even from seeing it ; and when she touched 
on the southern and eastern coast of Seghalien Island, it was con- 
sidered as forming a continuation of lesso. Some geographers 
might thus have believed that all these coasts, instead of forming 
two islands, belonged to the same peninsula of Chinese Tartary. 
The log-book of the Dutch vessel, the Breske, not having been 
consulted, it was not known that the navigators belonging to that 
ship had determined the Strait of Songaar to be such as we now 
know it.* The north point of Japan being placed two or three 
degrees too far south, created an immense gap between that coun- 
try and lesso, where the Japanese charts laid down a very narrow 
arm of the se&.'f About the same time, some particulars were 
known through the Chinese missionaries respecting the Island of 
Seghalien, and the existence of a strait called Tessoi. The Jesuit, 
Father Des Anges, even saw this strait, described its terrible cur- 
rents, and learned that the land beyond it, the Island of Seghalien, 
was named Amo-Moxori. This name signifies the Isle of the 
Ainos jj but in 1620 this name had no meaning among geogra- 
phers, and they could draw from it no conclusion. D'Anville 
made two attempts to delineate these countries, and by a chance 
not uncommon in geographical criticism, his last idea was the most 
remote from the truth. He gave the Strait of Tessoi its proper 
place, but he connected the south part of the Island of Seghalien, 

* Witsen, Noord-en-Oost-Tartarye, 2d edt. p. 138. 

t Krempfer's Japan, I. 78. (Dohm's German edition.) 

X Aino, the name of the nation or people which inhabits lesso, the 

Kiiriles and Seghalien. Modjeri, island. Vocabulary of the language 

of lesso, communicated in MS', by M. Titsingh. 




THE PAGOD OF THE JAPANESK IDOL DAYBOT. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 65 

or Amo-Moxori, witli tlie continent of Mantchooria, then called 
CIiiaese-Tartary, and figured this same island, under very small 
dimensions, opposite to the mouth of the river Amur.* 

The Russians, in visiting the Kurile Islands adjoining their pos- 
sessions in Kamtchatka, necessarily arrived at lesso. The Cossack 
Kosirewski reached, in 1713, the Isle of Koonasheer, making part 
of the coast of the lesso of the Dutch. In 17.36, Spangenberg, a 
Dane, in the Eussian service, examined the Isles of Ooroop^ or the 
Company's Land ; that of Atorkoo^ which is States Island ; also 
Koonasheer, Tchikotan, and Matsumai, or lesso. He even made 
Japan, but he had neither ships nor instruments corresponding to 
his talents and his courage. At last the Russian Potouchkew, in 
1777, sailed by the west, round the Islands of Atorkoo and Ooroop. 
These discoveries were placed too, far to the south, "j" from the 
respect paid to geographical systems on the position of Songaar. 
Two bad sketches of these discoveries, taken from the Russian 
records, and published by M. Lesseps, completed the mass of 
confusion and fruitless conjecture in- which the subject was in- 
volved. 

At last the unfortunate La Perouse commenced the discovery 
of the true method. He entered by the Sea of Japan, found the 
channel which separates Mantchooria from the countries of lesso, 
penetrated to the sandy shallow strait which separates these coun- 
tries from the continent, traversed another strait to which his name 
has since been properly given, and thus obtained for us a view of 
this Archipelago altogether new. 

The English navigator, Broughton, has confirmed the correctness 
of the Dutch charts and those of Kasmpfer, with regard to the 
Strait of Songaar or Matsumai. In consequence of the investiga- 
tions of this gentleman, the northern coast of Japan has obtained 
its right position in latitude. But Broughton has given geographers 
a new subject of dispute, by maintaining that there is no strait be- 
tween Mantchooria and Seghalien Island. 

La Perouse, forced by winds and other circumstances to leave 
this channel before he had explored it to the end, had interrogated 
with much care the natives both of the island and of the continent. 
The former assured him that their country was surrounded with 

* D'Anyille, Carte generate de la Tartai-ie Chinoise et Carte de 
I'Asie, IP- part. — Ph. Buache, Consid. G^og. et Pbys. sur les D^cout. 
p. 75, &c. 

t Charts of the Russian discoveries, published at Petersburgh, 1773 
and 1787. 



^6 JAPAN ANE THE JAPANESE. 

water; and gave him a sketch, of the strait which separated it from 
the continent.* The people of the continent told him that the 
boats which came from the mouth of the river Amur to the bay of 
De Castries, were dragged over a narrow isthmus of sandy ground 
covered with sea-weeds. "(" This navigator remarked, besides, that 
the depth of the water rapidly decreased at the extremity of the 
channel, and that no current was perceivable in it. He seems to 
have been satisfied that the strait existed, but that, obstructed by 
sand and sea-weeds, it only afforded a narrow passage to small 
boats. Broughton goes farther. He says, that having been twenty- 
two milesj farther to the north than La Perouse, he arrived at a 
bay which was only two fathoms deep, and which was shut in on all 
sides by a low and sandy ground. He is persuaded that this tongue 
of land, which was examined by his boats, is in no part interrupted, 
and that Seghalien is a peninsula. Mr. Krusenstern, who did not 
go near this strait, but visited that which is situated to the north 
of the mouth of the river Seghalien, supports the opinion of 
Broughton by extended reasonings. § The water which he found 
in the gulf formed by this river being almost fresh, furnished a 
specious argument, which appeared decisive to him and his com- 
panions. If the Grulf of Seghalien communicated ever so little 
with the Channel of Tartary, the salt waters of that arm of the 
sea would have mingled with those of the gulf. M. de Krusen- 
stern supports his views by the testimony of the inhabitants of De 
Castries Bay, quoted by La Perouse, and by the observations of 
Broughton, and says, he entertains no doubt of the existence 
of a sandy isthmus, rendering the land of Seghalien a peninsula 5 
but he thinks that this is of very recent formation, and that Segha- 
lien was really to be considered as an island at the time when even 
the modern Japanese and Chinese charts were constructed, all of 
which represent it as detached from the continent. 

It is to be regretted that nautical and political considerations 
prevented Krusenstern from substantiating on the spot the existence 
of this isthmus. His reasonings as they stand are not unanswerable. 
Two or three windings of the beach, some islets and sand-banks, 
two or three narrow canals filled with the enormous rushes which 
grow over the whole of this coast, encumbered also with floating mea- 

* La Perouse, III. p. 86. f I^lem. p. 72. 

I " 8 Fr. leagues." 

§ Krusenstern's Voyage Round tlie World, II. p. 191 — 195. (Original 
German edition.) 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 67 

dows of sea-weeds, would afford a sufficient explanation of tlie fact 
that the salt water of the Channel of Tartary did not extend to the 
Grulf of Seghalien. If to the west of this shallow strait there is a 
tongue of low land almost divided by two small rivers, as there 
certainly is one to the north of the mouth of the Amur, at the 
place which the Russians call Grilazkaia Perewoloca, and the 
Chinese G-oh* it is quite natural to suppose that the people of the 
continent have sometimes dragged their light boats over such a 
stripe of land, to avoid the difficult navigation of the strait itself. 
This is what the Cossacks of the seventeenth century did, when 
coming down the Amur, and wishing to reach Udskoi, they pre- 
ferred carrying their boats over the tongue of land (xilazkaia, to 
the plan of doubling* the promontory, which M. Krusenstern calls 
Cape Romberg. According to this hypothesis, which is singularly 
favored by the very remarkable details of a map of M. D'Anville,'|" 
we may conceive how Broughton may have been deceived by mis- 
taking a cove in the strait for the strait itself. Besides, if this 
navigator found a sandy isthmus, even supposing it to have been of 
considerable width, why did he not perceive the sea on its opposite 
side } 

For these reasons, till such time as new light is thrown on the 
question, every candid geographer will retain the strait pointed out 
by B'Anville, by the missionaries, and by the Chinese and Japanese 
charts, as separating Seghalien, or Tchoka, as it is also called, from 
the continent of Maatchooria. 

Krusenstern examined with great care the western shores of the 
Isle of lesso, and the south-eastern and northern shores of Segha- 
lien Island. His account, and those of La Perouse and Broughton, 
are the only published sources from which certain ideas can be 
formed of this Archipelago ; but the kindness of M. Titsingh, a 
Dutch gentleman who resided a long time at Japan, enables us to' 
avail ourselves of two Japanese descriptions for details which throw 
a new light on the geography and history of these countries. One 
is called " leso-Ki, or a description of lesso, by Ara'i-Tsikogo-no- 
Kami, instructor of the Ziogoen (military empei"or) Tsoena-Josi," 
written in 1720. The other is called "7c.?o-/u, or a description 
of lesso, with the history of the rebellion of Samsay-In, by Kan- 
namon, Japanese interpreter," written in 1752. Besides these, 

' * Muller's Memoir on the Paver Amur, in Buscliing's Geog. Mag. II. 
507, 508. 

t Asie, IIP part. 2« feuille. • 



68 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

M. Titsingli lias coraiuunicatcd an account of two Japanese maps, 
which appear in a periodical work, entitled the " Annales des Voy- 
ages." We shall take the northern coast of Japan for our point 
of departure. 

The Isle of Matsuniai, situated to the north of that of Niphon, 
is called in the Japanese language lesso^ or " the Coast ;" it also 
receives the name of 3Io-Sin, or *' the Hairy Bodies." The Mo- 
Sins formerly occupied the northern parts of Japan as far as the 
mountain Ojama. Driven bnck into their own island, they have 
there been repeatedly subdued ; and it is only in the south 
part of the Island of Seghalien that they preserve their indepen- 
dence. According to Krusenstern, the Mo-Sins call themselves 
Ainos.* This nation is distinguished from the Japanese by a 
stature somewhat taller, and a more robust frame. They have 
very thick black beards, and the hair of their heads is black and 
somewhat frizzled. Both the men and women tattoo their lips 
with figures of flowers and animals. The rich among them dress 
in Japanese or Chinese manufactures ; the common people wear a 
stuff made of a fibre obtained from a species of willow bark. At 
the early age of ten the children learn to dive in the sea, and to 
leap over tight ropes. The Ainos excel in both exercises. Some 
of them can leap six or seven feet high. They hunt the deer ; 
their principal arms are the bow and arrows. Small detachments 
of Japanese can beat thousands of the Ainos. The hereditary 
chiefs of the villages acknowledge themselves the vassals of the 
Japanese Prince of Matsumai, and pay him a tribute of the skins 
of otters, seals, bears, elks and beavers, likewise of salmon, fal- 
cons, and other productions of their country. They live together 
without established laws, and almost without religious worship ; at 
least a few libations and the lighting of fires in honor of Kamoi, a 
Japanese deity, are the only religious ceremonies that have been 
observed among them. They have no alphabet and no -coin. 
They trade entirely by barter. They repair to one of the Kurile 
islands, lay down their goods on the beach, and return on board 
their vessels ; the Kurilians come down, examine the goods, and 
place their own by the side of them ; and by a series of such nego- 
ciations in dumb show their bargains are concluded. They allow 
polygamy ; adultery they resent and revenge. If an attempt is 
made b}" a married woman to seduce a man, he demands her ear- 
rings, and with these pledges in his hand he is safe from the at- 

* Krusenstern's Voyage, 11. p. 74. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 



69 



tacks of tlie injured husband. Brothers marry their sisters. Their 
tribes are so many separate family associations, Trhich seldom form 
mutual alliances. Their lamentations for the dead are expressed by 
mock-fights among the relations, in which bloody wounds are some- 
times inflicted. To these curious accounts given by the Japanese 
writers, very little has been added by European navigators. Brough- 
ton informs us that these people are uncommonly hairy over the 
whole body. Krusenstern considers this statement as an exagge- 
ration, although it is supported by the testimony of the Dutch, and 
appears to be confirmed by the Japanese accounts. 

The language of the xlinos seems to be equally foreign to the 
Japanese, the Mantchoo, and the Kamtchadale. On comparing 
about a hundred well-chosen words with the corresponding terms 
in several of the languages of Asia, and of Oceanicst, we can find 
no indication of affinity ; but a more intimate acquaintance with 
the structure and the roots of many of these languages would be 
requisite to enable us to pronounce with any decision on the ques- 
tion. This language, though less sonorous and less mellow than 
the Japanese, has no savage rudeness in its articulation. 

The following are a few specimens of it : — 



Heaven, 


likita. 


Night, 


atziroo. 


Earth, 


sirikata. 


Man, 


okkay. 


Sun, 


tofskaf. 


(In Japanese 


otoko.) 


Moon, 


koonetsoo. 


Woman, 


meniiokoosi 


Stars, 


noro. 


Father, 


fanpe. 


Mountain, 


kimla. 


Mother, 


tafoo. 


Island, 


modjiri. 


(In Japanese 


Ma.-) 


Shore, 


siri. 


Fire, 


abe* 


Day, 


tokaf. 







The Isle of lesso presents on all sides lofty mountains, covered 
with a beautiful verdure. The name In-soo, given to the island, 
according to Broughton, expresses this circumstance — the first syl- 
lable signifying high^ and the second, grmn.'\ It abounds with 
firs, willows, and many other trees. TussilagosJ and the Kamt- 
chatkan lily§ thrive in it, showing that the climate is moist and 
cold. There are many creeping shrubs. The reeds have the 
same enormous size as at the mouth of the river Amur. Among 
the cultivated vegetables of which trials have been made by the 
Japanese, millet, peas, and beans, have succeeded. The animals 



* leso-Ki of Rannamon, MS. 
X Colt's-Foot. 



t In-tsooi. 

§ " Lis saranne." 



7Q JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

of the island' are eagles, three sorts of filcons, bears, and deer. 
They take the bears when very young, give them to their women 
to suckle, bring them up like favorite dogs or pigs, and, when 
grown up, confine them in cages till fat enough for killing. The 
family mourn over the death, yet eat the body of the animal ; a 
custom which reminds us of the Ostiaks.* Otters and seals are 
described by the two Japanese authors, under many different 
names. Whales come to the bays and river-mouths in quest of 
the immense swarms of nishig, a kind of sprats, which are found 
there. Salmon also abound to such a degree that they may be 
taken with the hand. The sea-leech is caught and sold to the 
Japanese. Several of the fuci are used as common articles of 
food. 

Matsumai,"!" or " the Town of the Strait," (IMatsi being the word 
for a strait) , is built near the south end of the island. It is a Ja- 1 
panese fortress, and inaccessible by land. Other military posts 
extend along the western coast all the way to the northern point. 
In coasting the western shore, we meet with the islands of Osima, 
Kosima, Okosiri, Riosiri, (which contains the Pic de Langk of La 
PerouseJ), and Refoonsiri. The large gulf which extends into 
the country, is called by the Russians the Gulf of Strogonof. 
The last station to the north is Notsjiab, the Notzamboo of Kru- 
senstern.§ Soyea is on a bay farther to the east. On the north- 
west coast the Ainos, though subject to Japan, live by themselves. 
Atkis, their principal village, is on the north-east coast. A Rus- 
sian officer, 5l. Laxmann, visited in 1792 the harbor of Kimoro, 
which belongs to it. || M. Titsingh's manuscript contains no such 
name as this last ;** but Atkis is indicated under that of Atskesi. 
A firth or strait which has received no name, separates the Isle of 
lesso from that of Chikotan, one of the Kurile islands, claimed by 
the Japanese. The south-east coast has been surveyed by the 
Dutch and by Broughton. The country is covered with magnifi- 
cent forests. Volcano Bay is a circular basin of a very picturesque 
appearance. There is every reason to suspect the existence of a 
volcano in a state of activity in this, quarter, although it has 'not 
been positively ascertained. The Japanese divide this island into 
five districts, but we are unacquainted with their respective limits. 

* See Book XXXVm. p. 356, (Malte Brun.) j " Matsimai." 

I Krusenstern's Voyage, 11. 56. § Idem. II. 50. 

II Storch's Russia under Alexander I. fascic. 6 — (In German.) 
** " Among two hundred proper names." 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 71 

To the nortli of the Island of Matsumai, the long Island of Se- 
ghalien extends, called by the Japanese Oki(j lesso, or the Upper 
lesso, sometimes Kifa lesso, which means either Northern lesso, 
or the lesso of Kitay, (China.) The Ainos, according to our Ja- 
panese geographers, call it Karato, to which name the Japanese 
add the termination sima, signifying island. According to Kru- 
senstern, the name given to it by the natives is Saldan ; according 
to La Perouse, Tchoka ; but the latter appears to be only the 
name of a leading village, which is written Tchuchin, on M. 
D Anville's map. The other two names may probably also turn 
out to be local. 

La Perouse, who visited the west coast, gives a very favorable 
account of this people, taken in a moral point of view. The in- 
telligence of these poor islanders struggles against a severe climate. 
They live by fishing and hunting. They tattoo their persons, and, 
like the Ainos of lesso, they make stuffs of the willow bark. Their 
language contains some German and some Mantchoo terms. A 
boat in their language is kahani, in German, kakn. The word 
skip has exactly the same meaning with them as in English.* So 
has the word Iwo, as pronounced by the English. In lesso tsoot- 
soob is the word for the number two. This island, very high in 
the middle, becomes flat towards the south end, where it seems to 
have a soil favorable for cultivation. Vegetation is extremely 
vigorous. Pines, willows, oaks, and birches, are the principal 
forest trees. The surrounding sea is full of fish. The rivers and 
streams abound in salmon and trout of the best quality. The hills 
are covered- with rose trees, with angelica, and Kamtchatkan 
lilies, f 

Krusenstern examined Aniwa Bay at the south end of the island. 
Here the Japanese had an establishment, which the Russians have , 
destroyed ; and it is supposed that the latter nation mean to colo- 
nize it. The whole eastern coast, examined by the same navigator, 
presented woody valleys, behind which mountains covered with 
snow seemed to lose themselves in the clouds. J At the 51st de- 
gree of latitude the ground becomes low, and nothing is to be seen 
except sandy downs and hills. § The south part is inhabited by 
the Ainos. The east coast seems to be uninhabited ; the north- 

* " Chip, vaisseau ; ship." The translation above is correct, if the word 
chip is spelt after the French orthography. — P. 
t Voyage de M. La Perouse, IV. p. 73. III. 40, 43, 
i Krusenstern, II. p. 92, 96, 144. § Idem. p. 153. 



72 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

west coast, near the mouth of the river Amur, is occupied hj a 
colony of Mantchoos. 

To the north-east of the Isle of lesso, a chain of islands ex- 
tends all the way to the south point of Kamtchatka. The K,us 
sians call them the Kibrihs. They reckon twenty-two of them, 
including lesso. The inhabitants of this last isle reckon thirty- 
six, which they comprehend under the name of Kooroo-Misi, which 
is probably of Japanese etymology, and signifies the "Road of 
Sea-weeds ;" liooroo^ signifying a species of fucus, and mitsi^ a road. 
The charts in Krusenstern.'s voyage lay down only twenty-six ; the 
others will be discovered when the eastern shore of lesso is better 
explored. D'Anville lays down twenty-nine to the north of the 
Boussole channel, and thirty-four in all. This Archipelago is na- 
turally divided into two parts, the chain on the south of the Bous- 
sole channel, and that on the north. The one which is nearest 
lesso, and is claimed by the Japanese government, may be called 
the Great Km'iles ; and the other, adjoining to Kamtchatka, the 
Little Kuriles. 

The latter, inhabited by Kamtchadales who left their native 
country on the approach of the Russians, present nothing but a 
chain of precipitous barren rocks, which are mostly volcanic. Po- 
romu-Shir* is the largest. Sumtchu shows some indications of sil- 
ver mines. Ana-Kutan, Arama-Kutan, Syas-Kutan,! and several 
others, contain extinguished volcanoes. That of Rashotka, called 
Sarytchew Peak, by Krusenstern, is constantly burning, and also 
that of Ikarma. In Usi-Shir there are warm springs issuing with 
violent jets. 

The G-reat Kuriles promise more considerable advantages to in- 
telligent colonists. That of Ooroop,J the " Company's Land" of 
the Dutch, the Nadeshda of some Russian maps, and the Ooroowoo 
of the Japanese manuscript, leso-Ki, has firs and cherry trees. 
Here begin the hairy Kurilians of the same race with the Ainos of 
lesso and Seghalien. Etorpoo, the " States Island" of the Dutch, 
the Atorkoo of Krusenstern 's map, and the letorofo of the Japanese, 
contains fine forests, which, however, are at times seriously thi:eat- 
ened by an adjoining volcano in the same island. The plains and 
mountains of Koona-Shir are covered with the most beautiful 
larches and firs. The Pinus cembra thrives in it. It was proba- 

* Shir or siri is the term for an island in the language of lesso. 
t Kutan is from Kotang, the lesso term for a country. 
X " Urup." 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 73 

bly at Chlkotau that Steller and Spangenberg believed they saw 
vines, and even the wild citron of Japan. These navigators cer- 
tainly did not find the oak and the walnut, except on the coast of 
lesso. 

It is among the Great Kuviles that we are to look for a part of 
the alleged discoveries of Beniowski.* This enthusiast imagined 
that he saw at Koonashir, considerable towns. There was a pearl- 
fishery on its coast. His Tchulgan-Idzon, rich in copper, and 
Maanas-Idzon, abounding in gold, are no more to be found. But 
the Japanese geographers point out in the Isle of lesso, a district 
called Figasi, and a village called Kawa, which are evidently the 
isles of Fiassi and Kawith of the Polish navigator. His accounts 
of silver and copper mines, horses, red pearl, or coral, which he 
found in these countries, contain nothing incredible. In giving 
the town of Matza 2000 houses he probably exaggerates ; but the 
town exists, and is called Matzige-I It is on the whole rather 
rashly that this navigator has been charged with intentional impos- 
ture. 

We now proceed to describe a country more frequently treated 
in detail than those we have just examined. The three islands of 
Niphon, Kiusiu, and Sikokf, surrounded with a multitude of small- 
er islands, form the kingdom, or, as it is sometimes called, the 
Empire of Japan. The Chinese at first called it Yang-hoo, or 
the " Workshop of the Sun ;" then they called it Noo-Kooe, or 
" the Kingdom of Slaves ;" and finally, Je-pen, or Je-poon, "Coun- 
try of the Rising Sun. "J Marco Polo knew it under the cor- 
rupted name of Xipangu. The isle of Kiusiu has from north to 
south a diameter of nearly two degrees, or 130 miles, § and its 
greatest length is about 220. |1 That of Sikokf is 100 miles long, 
and 55 broad.** The large Island of Niphon lies south-west and 
north-east ; its length is not less than 1600 miles,!! but its breadth 
is in every part moderate. Its medium breadth is not more than 
160 miles,JJ though it may be the double of this between the ex- 
tremities of two projecting points. The surface of the Japanese 
states may be reckoned at 122,720 square miles. §§ The popula- 
tion is rated at between 15 and 30 millions by the most moderate 

* See his Voyage, translated by Forster, I. 368. 

t Manuscript Chart of Titsingh. 

j Kasmpfer's History of Japan, I. 73, 74, (German edition.) 

§ " 50 Fr. leagues." || " 80 Fr. leagues." 

** 36 by 20 Fr. leagues." ft " 300 Fr. leagues." 

tt " 30 Fr. leagues." §§ " 16,000 sq. Fr. leagues." 



74 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

authors. This regular and flourisliing state, at the further ex- 
tremity of Asia, is withdrawn from the researches of travelers by 
the cautiousness of its policy. 

I The whole country is full of mountains and hills, and its coasts 
beset with steep rocks, which are opposed to the waves of a stormy 
ocean. The plains are pervaded by numerous rivers and small 
streams. But the hills, the mountains, and the plains, enriched 
with many singular plants, present the interesting picture of hu- 
man industry amidst the traces of the revolutions of nature. The 
most celebrated mountain of Japan is that of Foosi, which is 
covered with snow through nearly the whole year. In the neighbor- 
hood, the mountains of Faconi surround a small lake of the same 
name.* Some of the mountains contain volcanoes. The greater 
part of them abound in evergreen' trees and limpid springs. It is 
said that there is near Firando an island entirely volcanic ; and 
several others of the same kind are mentioned in the surrounding 
seas.j" In the province of Figo there is a volcano which gives out 
many flames. 

The rivers of Japan cannot have a long course. The Jedo- 
Grawa, which passes by Osaka, has several bridges of cedar, from 
300 to 860 feet long. The Ojin-gawaJ and the Fusi-gawa are also 
broad and rapid rivers. In Japanese history, the river Oomi is 
mentioned as having in one night issued out of the earth. 

One of the largest lakes is that of Oitz, from which two rivers 
proceed, one towards Miaco, and the other to Osaka. This lake is 
fifty Japanese leagues long, each league being as much as a horse 
goes in an hour at an ordinary pace ; its breadth about a third. 
The delightful plain which surrounds it is rendered sacred by con- 
taining 3000 pagodas. 

These islands experience by turns the extremes of heat and 
cold. The summer-heat, however, is frequently alleviated by the 
sea-breezes. In winter the north and north-east winds are ex- 
ceedingly sharp, and bring along with them an intense frost. Du- 
ring the whole year the weather is variable, and much rain fills, 
particularly in the satsaki or rainy month, which begins at mid- 
summer. § According to observations, the highest degree of heat 
at Nangasaki is 98"^ in the month of August, and the greatest cold 

* Tlmnberg, t. III. p. 164, (Langles translation.) 
t Ksempfer, t. I. p. 166, (French translation.) 
f The -word gatoa signifies riyer, as it does in Celtic. 
§ Thunfcerg, t. III. p. 234. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. . 75 

35° in January. The snow lies some days on the ground, even in 
the southern parts. Thunder is heard almost every night in sum- 
mer ; storms, hurricanes, and earthquakes, are very frequent. The 
genial rains conspire with human labor and manure to overcome 
the natural sterility of the soil. 

The laws enjoin agriculture as one of the rigorous duties of the 
Japanese. Every spot is under cultivation, with the exception of 
the most impracticable mountains. Exempt from all feudal and 
ecclesiastical exactions, the farmer cultivates the land with zeal and 
success.* There are no commons. If a piece of land lies without 
culture, a neighboring farmer who is more active, is at liberty to 
take possession of it. There are no meadows ; but the attention 
paid to manure is very great. On the sides of steep hills stone 
walls are raised, which sustain plots of ground sown with rice or 
with vegetables. Rice is the principal grain. Buckwheat, rye, 
barley, and wheat, are rarely cultivated ;| potatoes are of indiffe- 
rent quality ; but various sorts of beans, peas, turnips, and cabbage 
succeed well. The rice is sown in April, and reaped in Novem- 
ber. In this last month wheat is sown, to be harvested in the fol- 
lowing June. Barley also lies in the ground during winter. 

The plants of Japan very much resemble those of China, which 
is probably owing to a mutual interchange of the most useful 
species. The tea-shrub grows without culture in the hedges. The 
most superb bamboos abound in all the low grounds ; ginger, black 
pepper, sugar, cotton, and indigo, though perhaps originally from 
the more southern parts of Asia, are cultivated in Japan, with 
great success aiid in large quantities. In the interior the sides of 
the lower mountains produce the Indian laurel, and the camphor- 
tree ; likewise the Rhws vernix, the bark of which yields a gum 
resin which is regarded as the leading ingredient of the inimitable 
black Indian varnish. Besides the sweet China orange, there is a 
wild species peculiar to Japan, the Citrus Japonica. The Euro- 
pean vegetation is mingled with that of southern Asia. The larch, 
the cypress, and the weeping-willow, which make their appearance 
in all the temperate countries between Japan and the Mediterra- 
nean, terminate here. The case is similar with the Papaver Sojfi- 
niferum^ or opium-bearing poppy, the Jalap, and the lilac. 

The Japanese have none of our apples, but they have pears of 
considerable size, shaddocks,J Kaki figs, or Japanese date-plums, 

* Thunberg, t. IV. p. 80, &c. f K^mpfer, I. 120, &c., (in German.) 
J " Pamplemousses." 



76 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

(Dibspyros kald^) and large oranges. (They have the art of 
making sweet-meats, and preserving a variety of fruits with spices, 
such as bananas, the bread-fruit (jacquier,) strawberries, cocoa- 
nuts, and many others.) They procure oil for cookery as well 
as for light from sesamum, from the sumachs, from the Taxus ging- 
ko* from the Lcmrus camphora^ the Laiirus glauca, the Melia 
azeclM-ach^ or common bead-tree, and the cocoa-nut. They raise a 
great abundance of silk-worms. The cotton-plant £urnishes them 
with light stuffs, and the TJrtica nivea with durable cordage ; they 
make paper and fans of the bark of a species of mulberry, of the 
Licuala, and the Borassus jialellifonnis ; bottles of the calabash, 
combs of the Myrica nagi, and all sorts of furniture of the LinderWy 
different species of pine, bos-wood, cypress, and the Taxus maa-o- 
phylla^ or long-leaved yew. The eye is delighted with the mixture 
of cocoa-trees, fan-leaved palms, cycases, and arborescent mimosas^ 
which adorn the sea-beach. The hedges by which the possessions 
are divided, are composed o^Lydum Japonicum^ three-leaved oran- 
ges,! Gardenias^ Vihv.rnums^ and Tlmyas^ besides several twining 
plants, of which they make arbors and covered walks. Several 
plants useful in medicine are also found here, such as the Conval- 
laria Japonica, Acorus aromaticus] Smilax China^ in the virtues 
of which they were instructed by the Swedish traveler Thunberg ; 
the Corchorus Japonicus^ the Laurus camphora^ the moxa^ the 
snake-wood,J and the mungo-root. 

The maxims of Japanese industry have almost banished from 
the empire two domestic animals, which in all other countries are 
the most common, goats and sheep. The first are deemed hurtful to 
agriculture, and the wool of the second is superseded by cotton and 
silk. Pigs are also proscribed, as pernicious to agriculture ; the neigh- 
borhood of Nagasaki is the only place where any are to be seen, and 
they have probably been introduced by the Chinese. § These 
islands produce on the whole but few quadrupeds. In Thun- 
berg's opinion, one province of Sweden contained as many or more 
horses than the whole empire of Japan ; there are very few cattle ; 
a variety of the buffalo, with a hump on the back, is employed iu 
agriculture, and very small oxen ; yet the caprice or personal taste 
of the sovereign has created a law of the State in favor of dogs, 
"which are fed at the expense of the towns, and are treated with 

* Salishuria adiantifolia, or Gingko biloba. — P. 

t Citrus Trifoliata. — P. % Strychnos Colubrina. — F 

§ Thunberg, IV. p. 95. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 77 

mucli kindness and respect. The principal food of the Japanese 
consists of fish and vegetables. Fowls and ducks are kept chiefly 
for the sake of their eggs. They add to the ordinary vegetables 
many sorts of marine plants, Fioci and Ulvoi^ which are prepared 
in various ways. Game is not plenty ; there are wild geese, phea- 
sants and partridges, but very few wild quadrupeds. The bear met 
with in the northern j^arts is black, with two white spots of a cres- 
cent form on the shoulders ; the flesh, which is eaten, is compared 
to mutton, but is tougher. The wolf is sometimes seen in the 
northern provinces ; there are also some foxes ; the latter are held iu 
universal detestation, and considered as evil-spirits, clothed with an 
animal body. 

The precious metals, gold and silver, abound in the empire of 
Japan. This was well known at one time to the Portuguese, and 
afterwards to the Dutch, who exported considerable cargoes. Grold 
is found almost everywhere ; but, in order to keep up its value by 
scarcity, there is a prohibition against digging beyond a determi- 
nate depth ; and no mine can be opened or worked without the 
express permission of the emperor, who claims two-thirds of the 
produce, leaving a third to the proprietor of the land. Gold is 
found in small quantities in the sand, but the greater part of it is 
extracted from copper pyrites. The purest and richest mines are 
at Sado, in the largest of the small islands adjoining Niphon ; those 
of Suremga hold the next rank. Silver seems to have been formerly 
more abundant ; the Japanese consider it as rarer than gold, 
though here, as everywhere else, it is of inferior value in exchange. 
It is said that there are rich silver mines in the Province of Bun- 
go, and the most northerly parts near itattami ; but the two islands 
called the Gold and Silver Islands, (G^msmaand Kinsima)^ are 
probably fabulous creations of national vanity, unless we should 
suppose them to be indications of some ancient commercial con- 
nection with Mexico, or imitations of the tales of Ptolemy on the 
regio aihrea et regie aigentea. 

Copper, mixed largely with gold, forms the chief wealth of seve- 
ral provinces, and the most valuable of their exports. The finest 
and most malleable comes from Saruga, Astinga, Kino, and Kuni ; 
the last is considered as the most malleable ; that of Saruga con- 
tains the largest proportion of gold. There is also a ^eat num- 
ber of copper mines in Satsuma. Iron seems to be rarer in this 
country than any other metal ; but it is found in the provinces of 
Mimasalla, Bitsju, and Bisen. The Japanese do not make so much 
use of it as most other nations ; they employ it, however, in the 



78 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

manufacture of arms, of knives, scissors, and otlier necessary in 
struments. The gold and copper are coined into money. 

M. Tliunberg received some amber in a present, brown, yellow, 
and iridescent, which was said to have been found in the country ; 
sulphur is found in great abundance,* and pumice-stone, showing 
the former existence of volcanoes. We are informed that mineral 
coal is found in the northern provinces ; there are red agates with 
white veins, which are used for making buttons and snuff-boxes. "f" 
According to Kserapfer, calamine is imported from Touquin, but 
tin is found in the Province of Bungo ; perhaps this pretended tin 
is only the white copper of China. A reddish-colored naphtha is 
employed for burning in lamps. Thunberg saw asbestos, porce- 
lain-earth, and white marble. J Sulphuret of mercury in its primi- 
tive crystalline form, and in lamellated masses, has been brought 
from Japan. Baron Wurmb, a German savant settled at Batavia, 
received from Japan, abestos, capillary schorl, hydrophane, and 
the atmospheric stones formerly called thunder-stones, denominated 
in Japanese kaviinary salM.^ There are several warm mineral 
springs, to which the inhabitants resort for various diseases. || 

The empire is divided into about seventy principalities,** ruled 
by chiefs, who are vassals of the Emperor of Kubo.'f'f 

The capital of the empire of Japan is called ledo, [Jeddo], 
and is situated on a bay on the east coast of Niphon. The houses 
are only one or two stories high, with shops in front. The harbor 
of this place is so shallow, that a European vessel is obliged to an- 
chor thirteen or fourteen milesJJ off from the shore. The Em- 
peror's palace is surrounded with stone walls, and ditches with 
draw-bridges. It would form of itself a considerable town, being 
about fifteen miles round, §§ while the whole city is nearly sixty. |||| 

* Tlmnberg, t. IV. p. 402. 
t Ktempfer, I. p. 121, 122, (in German.) 
t Tliunberg, III. p. 203. 

§ Verhandelingen van't Bataviaasch. Genootscliaap, V. 566. 
II Kcempfer, I. p. 167, (French.) 

** These principalities are called Kokf, in the Japanese language, 
ft The empire of Japan is divided into sixty-four provinces. Bulletin 
de Ferussac. — P. 

tt " 5 French leagues." §§ Thunberg, IV. p. 54. 

nil Kffimpfer, 11. 271, 344. ledo, according to a native plan of the city, 
is 7 ris long, by 5 broad. The lis of China ('r/s ?) is 629 yards ; conse- 
quently, if this is also tiie measure of the ris, the city is about 2 1-2 
miles long, by rather more than 1 3-4 miles broad, or 4403 by 3145 
yards. — P. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 79 

ledo is tlie residence of all the feudatory princes for one half of 
the year. Their families are always kept there as a sort of hostages 
for their fidelity. The palace consists of a great number of apart- 
ments, and occupies an immense space. The hall of a hundred 
mats is 600 feet long and 300 Made. The palace has a square 
tower, a mark of pre-eminence, which is forbidden the grandees, in 
the capital ; but each of them enjoys a similar prerogative in his 
own territory. The roofs are adorned with gilt dragons ; the 
columns and ceilings exhibit an elegant display of cedar, camphor- 
wood, and other valuable kinds of timber ; but the whole furniture 
consists of white mats, adorned with golden fringes. 

The houses of private individuals are of wood, painted white, so 
as to have the appearance of stone ; the upper story serves as a 
wardrobe and store-room ; the ground floor is in one large apart- 
ment, divisible at pleasure into smaller portions by sliding partitions. 
Neither chairs nor tables are used, mats being the only seats ; the 
Emperor himself, when he gives an audience to any of his subjects, 
is seated on a carpet. 

Groing north-east from ledo, we find two of the principal towns, 
Grasima and Namboo. In a south-west direction we have the town 
of Odowara, where catechu, erroneously called Japan-earth, is pre- 
pared ; Okosaki, with its magnificent bridge ; and Kwana, one of 
the wealthiest in the empire, where there is a strong castle sur- 
rounded with water. It is the capital of the fertile province of 
Owari, which gives its name to a bay. 

Miaeo, the second city of the empire, is in an inland situation, 
in a level plain 150 miles* south-west of ledo. It is the principal 
seat of manufactures and trade. There the imperial coin is struck. 
It is the seat of the chief priest or Dairi, with his court of literati, 
and the place where all the books are printed. Kjempfer informs 
us that, according to a census taken in 1674, the population of this 
place amounted to 405,642 persons, of whom 182,070 were males 
and 223,572 females, independently of the numerous court of the 
Dairi.| The vast palace of this Japanese Pope is inaccessible to 
strangers ; but the temples of this holy city have been visited and 
described. That of Daiboots is the richest building in Japan, 
though only of wood. The gilt image of the divinity, sitting on a 
flower like the Hindoo idols, is twenty-five feetj broad between the 
shoulders, and capable of containing several people in the palm of 
his hand. The pyramidal roofs of the temples and palaces har- 

* " 54 French leagues." f Koempfer, II. 247. J " 4 toises." 



80 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

monize agreeably witli the wooded hills surrounding the city, and 
from which several limpid rills flow.* 

The five provinces adjoining to Miaco, reserved for the mainten- 
ance of the imperial com-t, are comprehended under the 'name of 
Grokinai ; they abound in rice and vegetables. In one of them, 
called Sitz or Sidsjow, we find the important city of Osacca, the 
port of Miaco, and one of the most flourishing cities of the empire. 
The canals by which it is intersected, and which are crossed by 
bridges of cedar, remind us of Venice. The pleasures which pre- 
vail there, together with the great abundance and easy price of 
provisions, attract a great many who are in quest of voluptuous in- 
dulgence. f Fiogo, in the same province, on the Gulf of Osacca, 
possesses a harbor protected by a very large mole. Mooroo, in the 
Province of Farima, is furnished with a natural harbor. Horses' 
hides are manufactured into leather at this place in the manner of 
the Russians. 

The towns on the northern and western coasts of the island of 
Niphon are only known to us by name. The case is the same with 
those of the whole Island of Sikokf, which have not been visited 
by travelers. In the Island of Kiusiu, we distinguish the famous 
harbor of Nangasaki or Nagasaki, the only one in which foreign 
vessels are allowed to anchor, this privilege itself being at present 
confined to the Dutch and Chinese. This place was formerly 
nothing more than a village, and is indebted to Portuguese com- 
merce for its prosperity and importance. Nangasaki contains 
eighty-seven streets, each 130 yardsj long, which is the length 
legally assigned to a street ; the houses therefore may be reckoned 
at a thousand. When approached by sea, this city presents views 
which would be sought for in vain in the most celebrated of our 
picturesque gardens. A rock 238 paces long, is the only place in 
which the Dutch merchants are allowed to reside, where they live 
in a state of seclusion and solitude worse than monkish, immersed 
in a total ignorance of the whole world beside. 

The Isle of Kiusiu, or of Saikokf, which once formed a separate 
kingdom, § still contains the following large towns : — Sanga, cele- 
brated for beautiful women, and a manufacture of almost trans- 
parent porcelain ; Kokura, the place from which they pass to 
Simonoseki in the Isle of Niphon ; and Cangosima, where the 
Portuguese landed when they first discovered this country. The 

* Kajmpfer, H. 234, 305, 339, &c. t Ktempfer, II. 223; 

t "60 toises." § Ktempfer, II. p 6, 201 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 81 

Islands of Firando and Amakusa had great celebrity at that epoch, 
from being the first seats of the Christian religion. The Isle of 
Tsusima, between Kiusiu and Corea, forms a principality which 
was tributary to the Coreans before it became subject to the 
Japanese. The Archipelago of Grotto terminates Japan on the 
south-west. 

To the south, the Island of Likeo, which we must not confound 
with the Islands of Lieu-kieu, is separated from Kiusiu by a nar- 
row strait. It is governed by a Dairi, or native pontiif, who is a 
vassal to the Prince of Satsuma. The inhabitants raise two crops 
of rice in the year. They cultivate their fields to the music of 
songs accompanied by the lyre. It is separated by Van Diemen's 
Strait from the Island of Tanao-sima, and a chain of smaller 
islands, extending in the direction of the Archipelago of Lieu-kieu. 

To the south-east the Japanese empire includes a small Archi- 
pelago, containing a burning volcano, and traces of several subter- 
raneous fires, now extinguished. The most considerable island is 
called Fatsisio, which is 500 feet* high,! ^^^ steep on all sides ; so 
that it is only accessible by means of ladders of ropes fixed to the 
tops of the rocks. Here, it is said that loose women, who have 
been disgraced and exiled, weave silk stuffs, according to strange 
designs dictated by a devious imagination. 

The Japanese are well formed, free and easy in their movements, 
of a hardy constitution, and of middling stature. Their yellowish 
complexion sometimes inclines to brown, and at others passes into 
a pale white. The women of distinction, seldoin exposing them- 
selves to the air without a veil, preserve complexions equally fair 
with those of our European ladies. It is by a peculiarity in the 
eyes that the Japanese are chiefly distinguished. They are farther 
from a round shape than in any other people — oblong, small, and 
sunk, they appear as if constantly winking. Their eyelids form a 
deeper furrow, and their eyebrows are placed a little higher than 
we generally find them in other nations. They have' for the most 
part, large heads, short necks, broad snubby noses, and the hair 
black, thick, and glossy from being habitually anointed. 

In these physical characters we may perhaps ti-ace a mixture of 
a Chinese with a Mongolian or Mantchoorian race. J The Japanese 
history, after describing a series of gods and demi-gods, says, that 

* " 80 toises." 

t Fatsi signifies ten, and sjo eight, in the Japanese language. 
X De Guignes, Histoire des Huns. Gatterer, Manuel d'Hist. Univ. II* 
part. I'« Vol. p. Ml. Kajmpfer, I. 87, 88 



82 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

the nation owed the first steps of its civilization to a Chinese colony. 
Their annals go back to a Chinese monarch called Sin-Moosa. 
They represent him with the head of a bull, because he taught 
them agriculture and the management of cattle. But the language 
of the Japanese, a more authentic document, gives no evidence of 
any foreign extraction of these islanders. It contains few Chinese 
terms. It has no resemblance to that of Mantchooria, of lesso, or 
of the Kurile Islands. The resemblances said to have been found 
by a learned person, between the Japanese and Tartar languages, 
have long remained without confirmation.* The Japanese words 
are not monosyllabic like the Chinese ; the conjugations and the 
syntax have a distinct and original character. "f" The Japanese or 
:Yo7ni language is employed in poetry and conversation. The 
Bonzes write theu' theological books in Chinese, which is to them 
what Latin is to us. ' 

If it is said that the indigenous Japanese have been subjugated 
by a tribe of Mongols or Mantchoos, who adopted the language of 
the conquered, at what epoch are we to fix such an invasion .-' The 
sacred era of the Japanese goes back to the establishment of the 
hereditary succession of the Da'iris, or ecclesiastical Emperors, 
which was 660 years before the Christian era. This dynasty re- 
tained its power till the year 1585 of om* vulgar era. In this 
interval two invasions had been repelled, that of the Mantchoos in 
799, the accounts of which are accompanied with many fables. In 
1281, the Mongols, under Mangoo Khan, having conquered China 
fourteen years before, attempted to take possession of Japan. The 
learned Amiot has given us, in a work translated from the Chinese, J 
the history of that expedition according to the Chinese authors. 
In this history, the Chinese army, joined to that of the Coreans, 
amounted to 100,000. The Coreans fm-nished 900 ships of war ; 
but that great armada was dispersed in a dreadful storm — an event 
which the Japanese attribute to the protecting care of their gods. 
All the acquisitions which the population of Japan may have 
received from the continent of Asia are confined to some colonies 
of Chinese and Corean emigrants. 

The Japanese are probably, like all the principal nations of the 

^ * Bayer, Thesaur. epist. La Croz. I. 54. 

t Tlmnberg, Observations in linguam Japonicam, in Nov. Act. UpsaL 
1792, V. p. 258-273. Hervas, Catalogo de las Lenguas, II. 64. 

X An introduction to the History of tlie Nations tributary to Cliina, 
composed by order of the Emperor Kang-Hi. MS. in the Imperial 
Library, 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE, 83 

■world, SO far aboriginal that their origin is beyond tbe reach of his- 
tory. If they came from the continent, they must have left it 
previously to the formation of the present languages. They have 
some obscure accounts, that besides their race there were two 
others in the island of Niphon, the Mosins, or hairy Kurilians, in 
the north, and a nation of negroes in the south. Perhaps the lat- 
ter were the Haraforas of the Philippine Islands. Many other 
primitive races, in these insulated regions, may have shone in 
their day, and, unknown to the rest of the world, have become 
extinct. 

In the year 1128, the Ddiri^ or ecclesiastical Emperor, who is 
descended from the national gods, was weak enough to appoint a 
military chief, called the Kiclo or Tzioogoon. The power of this 
great functionary, consolidated by hereditary succession, grew by 
victories and by intrigues, till in 1585 the Kubo deprived the 
Dairi of the last semblance of political authority. Ever since this 
revolution the government of Japan may be considered as an abso- 
lute and hereditary monarchy, supported by a great number of 
subordinate hereditary princes, also absolute, whose submission to 
the supreme power is secured by their reciprocal jealousies and the 
hostages which they give. Each prince disposes of the revenues 
of his own fief or government. By them he defrays the expenses 
of his court, maintains a military force, repairs the highways, and 
supplies all the demands of the civil list. The daimios or princes 
of the first degree, and the siomios who are their inferiors in rank, 
possess a dignity which is hereditary. The siomios are not only 
obliged to leave their families in the capital, but also to reside there 
six months in the year. 

Travelers admire the Japanese laws. Kaempfer gives them the 
preference over those of Europe. Justice is administered in the 
most expeditious manner. The parties appear in person before 
the judge, who passes his sentence without delay. But this tra- 
veler gives no account of any legal code. He also reduces the 
value of his authority, by insisting on the pretended advantage 
arising from the law by which the visits of foreigners are prohibited, 
and no Japanese is allowed under pain of death to leave his coun- 
try. According to Thunberg, the laws of this country are few, 
but executed with the utmost rigor, and without respect of per- 
sons ; only that the rich, when found guilty, are allowed to get off 
by paying pecuniary fines.* Ordinary offences are punished with 

* Thunberg, t. IV. p. 64. 



84 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

death ; but the sentence must be signed by the Emperor's privy 
council. The moral education of children being a political duty, 
parents are rendered accountable for the crimes of those whose 
early vices they ought to have repressed. The police is vigilant. 
Not only is there in each town a chief magistrate of police, called 
the Nimhan^ but the inhabitants of each street, being accountable 
in a body for the offences committed by any one of their number, 
nominate a commissioner who watches over the safety of lives and 
property. In each village there is a place surrounded with pali- 
sades, containing in the middle an inscription in large characters, 
consisting of a code of police regulations.* It must, however, be 
confessed, that Varenius, a well-informed Dutch writer, gives a less 
favorable idea of the laws of Japan. The punishments in the 
seventeenth century were marked with the utmost cruelty. To 
hack the criminal to pieces, to open his belly with a knife, to sus- 
pend him with iron hooks fixed in his sides, or to throw him into 
boiling oil, were common modes of punishment. The great were 
allowed the privilege of ripping up their bowels with their own 
hands."}" Valentin also describes the legislation of Japan as fero- 
cious and sanguinary. When we are told that crimes are rare in 
this country, we are not to infer that the laws must be excellent. 
How can it be otherwise in a country where every citizen is respon- 
sible for the offences of his neighbor — and where families and 
entire villages are visited with the extremity of punishment for the 
fault of an individual .? Such institutions, if they lessen the num- 
ber of crimes, deprive innocence of its tranquillity, and society of 
its enjoyments. Would it not be better to run the risk of being 
robbed once or twice in one's life, than to be every moment in 
dread of having one's bowels laid open to atone for. robberies com- 
mitted by our neighbors ? All that can be said in their favor is, 
that such terrible restraints may be rendered necessary by the de- 
graded condition of human nature. But allowing the standard of 
private morals to be the lowest that can be imagined, it is a mis- 
taken notion to suppose that the efficacy of the laws is in propor- 
tion to their atrocity. The accountableness of a portion of the 
community for crimes which the united vigilance of that portion is 
capable of preventing, is to a certain extent wise and politic, but 
it ought not to go beyond pecuniary fines ; and it is only just where 

* Thunberg, IV. 72. 

f See the plates of the work entitled " Ambassades des Hollandais au 
Japon." 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE 85 

those who are liable in such payments have the exclusive manage- 
ment of the prevention of crimes. Cruelties to those who have 
forfeited their lives are in all cases to he avoided ; and when prac- 
ticed towards individuals who are not the actual offenders, they are 
sure symptoms of a hideous barbarism, which imagines that the 
abuse of the members of the community is the best method of in- 
suring a due reverence for the laws. 

The accounts of travelers concur in assigning to Japan a pro- 
digious population. Even the mountains, of which this country 
chiefly consists, are turned to the best account by industrious culti- 
vators ; and the Tokaido^ the principal of the seven great roads of 
Japan, is sometimes as much crowded with travelers as the streets 
of any European capital are with passengers.* Varenius, follow- 
ing the best authorities,"!" reckons the number of troops kept by the 
princes and governors at 368,000 infantry and 38,000 cavalry ; 
and according to the same author, the Kubo or Emperor has an 
army of his own, amounting to 100,000 infantry and 20,000 
cavalry ; making in all 468,000 infantry and 58,000 cavalry. If 
this statement is correct, we may reckon the population at twenty 
or thirty millions of souls. 

The navy of the Japanese is not worth mentioning. Their ves- y 
gels are flat in the stern, and incapable of withstanding the waves 
of a heavy sea ; and, though the mariner's compass is used among 
them as well as among the Chinese, they are very awkward and 
ignorant sailors. It is indeed hardly conceivable how they could 
attempt in former times to keep up an intercourse with Formosa, 
and even with Java, as they are said to have done. Their naviga- 
tion to the north, according to some Japanese maps, extended as 
far as the American coast in the neighborhood of Behring's Straits, 
which they called Foosang. At present they scarcely venture far- 
ther than lesso ; and the inhabitants of that island speak of their 
voyages to Rakkosima, or "the Country of Sea-Lions," which is 
probably either Behring's Island or Kamtchatka, as the Grreeks did 
of the voyage of the Argonauts. J 

Varenius has given an account of the revenues of Japan, for J( 
each province separately. He makes the sum' total 2834 Dutch 
tons of gold, which, valuing the ton at L. 10,000 will be upwards 
of twenty millions sterling, without reckoning the provinces and 

* Thunberg, t. II. p. 345. III. p. 282 and 318. 
t Varenius' Description of Japan, c. IX, 
X leso-Ki, d'Arai-Tsikoego, MS. 



86 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

towns whicli depend immediately on the Emperor. But these 
revenues should not be considered as national, being paid in kind 
to the diiFerent princes. The Emperor, besides the large revenue 
of the royal domains and his own provinces, possesses a consider- 
able treasure in gold and silver. 

The Japanese are divided into two leading sects of religion, that 
of Sinto and that of Budso. The first acknowledges a Supreme 
Being, who is too exalted to receive the homage of men, or to look 
after their interests ; but they admit as objects of venevation some 
deities of subordinate rank, to whom they pray as mediators. They 
maintain that the souls of the virtuous occupy the regions of light 
adjoining to the heaven of heavens, while the souls of the wicked 
wander through the air till they have expiated their sins. Though 
the doctrine of the transmigration of souls is foreign to that creed, 
the rigid adherents of the Sinto sect abstain from all animal food, 
abhor the shedding of blood, and will not touch a dead body.* 
They call their gods Si7i or Kavii, and the temples Mia. These 
last consist of several apartments and galleries, formed, according 
to the custom of the country, by partitions, which are removed and 
replaced at pleasure. Straw mats are laid on the floors, and the 
roofs form on each side a projection sufficient to cover a sort of 
raised path surrounding the temple, on which the people walk. la 
these temples no figure is remarked that can be considered as re- 
presenting the invisible Supreme Being ; but they sometimes pre- 
serve in a box a small image of some secondary divinity. A largo 
metallic mirror is placed in the middle of the temple, to remind 
the worshipers that, as every spot on the body is there faithfully 
represented, the faults of the soul are seen with equal clearness by 
the eyes of the immortals. f The feasts and ceremonies of their 
worship are agreeable and cheerful, because they consider their 
deities as beings who take pleasure in dispensing happiness. 

The sect of Budso is originally from Indostan, and is the same 
with that of Budha or Boodh, which is said to have been formed 
either in Thibet or the Island of Ceylon, about eight centuries be- 
fore the Christian era. Spread over Ava, Siam, China, and Corea, 
this sect adopts some maxims from other rehgions ; but it preserves 
the doctrine of transmigration. It threatens the wicked with a 
dreadful hell, where it describes a bridge for souls, abysses of water 
and fire, and other imagery borrowed from the Alpine regions of 
Thibet. It also promises to the righteous a paradise of gay fields, 

* Thunberg, IV. p. 19. t Thunberg, IV. p. 21. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 87 

houses, and towns, like that of Swedenborg. This paradise, called 
Gokwrak, is ruled by the god Amida. Boodhism is so mixed with 
the Sinto or old religion of Japan, that it is difficult, and perhaps 
will become in time impossible, to make any discrimination betweea 
the dogmas of the two. 

Japan has a set of moralists or philosophers, whose doctrine goes 
under the name of Sjqgto. It has some affinity to that of the 
Epicureans, although its professors acknowledge, with Confucius, 
that virtue is the purest source of pleasure. These philosophers 
believe in the existence of a soul of the world, but do not worship 
any subordinate deities ; they have no temples pr religious ceremo- 
nies. It has been said that these deists favored Christianity, and 
that their number has decreased since the persecution of that reli- 
gion, as, in order to avoid incurring suspicion, they made a point 
of offering an ostensible homage to the gods of their country. 

From the year 1549 till 1638, missionaries of the order of the 
Jesuits labored in propagating their faith. They did not find this 
nation so ready as many others to embrace a plausible creed, 
merely because it was urged with earnest importunity. Their con- 
version could only be effected by arguing with them and resolving 
their doubts. In these intellectual efforts they obtained in the first 
instance great success. Several of the governors or tributary kings 
openly professed Christianity ; and in one district the Jesuits ob- 
tained the entire prohibition of every other religion. Soon, how- 
ever, the zeal of the grandees began to cool. They differed mate- 
rially in one point of practice, viz., polygamy — refusing to part 
with their numerous trains of wives. The whole missionaries were 
ordered to leave the country. This mandate not being speedily 
put in force, the Jesuits remained, but kept themselves extremely 
quiet. Afterwards some zealous barefooted friars arrived from the 
Philippine Islands, whose open proceedings revived the severities 
of the government ; some of them were crucified, and others had 
their ears cut off. At the same time a Portuguese vessel having 
been taken near Orudo, was found to contain a quantity of arms. 
A strict examination being made, the captain exculpated himself 
from the imputation of conspiracy ; but, being subsequently inter- 
rogated by the Japanese officer on the subject of the extensive 
conquests of the Portuguese nation, of which he had boasted, he 
said that these were made by sending missionaries, who converted' 
a large proportion of the people, after which an armed force was 
landed, and, being joined by these converts, soon made themselves 
masters of the country. The rage of the sovereign Tayoosama 



88 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

then knew no bounds, and a persecution of tlie bloodiest descrip- 
tion was immediately begun. In 1590, 20,000 Christians were 
put to death ; and- according to the accounts of the missionaries, 
the massacre of 1638 involved 37,000. But some cotempory 
authors tell us that there were altogether no more than 20,000 
Christians in the kingdom.* These disasters are, in part, ascribed 
to the pretensions to power and the political intrigues of the 
Jesuits, throwing an odium on the religion which they professed. 
It is very probable that the commercial jealousy which the Dutch 
harbored against the Portuguese, had a share in the bloody proceed- 
ings. Ever since that memorable epoch, the Catholic religion has 
been held in abhorrence in Japan. The missionaries were perhaps 
too forward in setting fire to the places consecrated to the native 
worship. It is very probable that, if a band of Japanese mission- 
aries should land at Havre-de-Grace, and set fire to the Cathedral 
of Rouen, the French police would treat them with no small 
severity. 

The civilization of the Japanese seems, like that of the Chinese, 
to be stationary ; but Japan has germs of improvement which offer 
some possible prospect of a moral revolution. The brave and in- 
telligent Japanese comes nearer to the Eurepean, by possessing a 
more masculine character and a higher degree of civil liberty. 
We are told that their learned language is the ancient Chinese, and 
that their written characters have a still greater resemblance with 
those of China ; but those of the Japanese stand for letters, and 
not for entire words. The Chinese cannot read a Japanese book ; 
but every well-educated Japanese c^ read the books of China. 
M. Titsingh, who is now engaged in a great work on Japan, has 
brought with him several printed books which do honor to the skill 
of that nation. Their types are not movable, and they print only 
one side of the paper. This gentleman has in his possession a 
superb Herbal, drawn and colored both with taste and accm'acy ; 
he has brought maps and plans very handsomely colored ; and 
which, though they have neither latitudes nor longitudes, will not 
be without their use in chorography. They have, since 600 years 
before the Christian era, been in the practice of engraving their 
money and the coats of arms of their principal families, j The 
Dutch language is read and spoken in this Asiatic country. Medi- 
cine and natural history begin to be taught from Dutch books. 

* Plat, de bono Statu. Relig. lib. II. cap. 30. 

t M. Titsingh, quoted by Charpenticr-Cossigny, in his Voyage to Bengal. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 89 

Hitherto their physicians have been very ignorant men. Their 
astronomers adhere to an extremely inconvenient division of time. 
The year, which is lunar, sometimes begins in May, sometimes in 
February. Seven times in nineteen years, an intercalary month 
restores it to the solar course. The schools or colleges, however, 
seem to be superior to those of any other Asiatic country. Flog- 
gings and bowlings are not the sounds with which they ring, but 
solemn songs, in honor of their heroes and national gods. Poetry 
is held in honor. In some arts the Japanese surpass the im- 
provements of European industry. They have excellent copper- 
smiths, blacksmiths, and armorers. Glass-works are common in 
Japan, and they even make telescopes ; their pictures are loaded 
with brilliant colors, but in composition and design they are de- 
fective. 

Their houses, which, on account of earthquakes, have only two 
stories, would not please the taste of an European, nor would their 
furniture or their dress ; but all these objects evince the industry 
and ingenuity of the people. Divided into several apartments by 
movable partitions, the interior of the house is ornamented with 
paintings, and gilt and colored paper ; their furniture glitters with 
a bright and unchangeable varnish ; their clothes wide, but tucked 
up with a sort of elegance, are of substantial cotton and silk stuffs, 
generally made in the country ; they also make their own clasps, 
buckles, and other trinkets which belong to the female attire, straw 
slippers, (which are left at the door when they enter a house), 
bats of flags* which they wear in traveling, and indeed, almost 
every article subservient to their luxury or convenience. The 
carriages in which their ladies ride, seem to be elegant and commo- 
dious. f They procure a kind of spirit from rice, which they call 
saqui or zaldd^ possessed of a powerful intoxicating quality. J 

A Japanese is certainly in some respects rather a ludicrous ob- 
ject — his head half shaved ; the hair which is left, accumulated 
on the crown of bis head ; the enormous covering of oiled-paper 
in which he is wrapped up when he travels ; his salutations, which 
consists in bending his body repeatedly almost to the ground ; and 
the fan which he constantly holds in his hand, present an extraor- 
dinary figure. They entertain a high sense of honor, and observe 
towards each other the most ceremonious politeness ; their courte- 
sies and ceremonies are infinite ; they have many books teaching 

* " D'herbe." t Ambassade au Japon, p. 98, 145. 

X Titsingh, in the " Verhandelingen van liet Bataviaasch genootschap 



90 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

how to take a draught of water, how to give and receive presents, 
and all the other minutise of behavior. Theh chiefs are said not 
■ so much to resemble our counts and dukes as tributary sovereigns, 
like those of Arragon and Castile ; they are supposed the entire 
proprietors of the land, part of which they keep for the support of 
themselves and then- families, and divide the rest among their 
nobles who have vassals under them. The Japanese, proud of 
the minute cleanliness of his habits, despises the Europeans as a 
dirty race ; he has no idea of our keenness in dispute, and, even 
when loaded with injuries, does not utter one vehement expression ; 
but his pride is deep, rancorous and invincible, and the poignard, 
which is inseparable from his person, is employed as an instrument 
of vengeance, when the object does not expect it, or to destroy his 
own life, in case vengeance is impossible. 

The law allows only one wife to the Japanese, but the concu- 
bines live in the same house. The wife is at the absolute disposal 
of the husband ; and when she incurs his displeasure, she has no 
appeal. Connubial infidelity is rare among them, although they 
are subjected to no system of seclusion. In cases of divorce, they 
are obliged to go constantly with the head shaved. In their mar- 
riage ceremonies there is an agreeable simplicity ; the woman 
standing up at the foot of the altar, lights a torch, at which the 
man lights another. It is also the custom for the young bride to 
throw the playthings of her childhood into the fire. 

The bodies of people of rank when they die are burned, those 
of others are bm-ied. The festival of lanterns is celebrated as in 
China, to which is added the custom of visiting the graves at stated 
times ; the manes are regaled with food and drink, and treated 
with songs and compliments. 

The public amusements consist of dramatic entertainments, 
which are said not to be inferior to those of polished nations. The 
great number of dancing girls and boys* announces the relaxation 
of public morals, which is also evinced by the great number of in- 
famous houses, which are more scandalously protected here than 
in any other country. | 

Inland communication is greatly facilitated by well-kept roads ; 
nor are there any duties to interrupt the progress of trade. The 
harbors, though shut against the commercial enterprise of Euro- 

* " Des danseuses en grand nombre, et sturlout des danseurs plus 
qu'effemin^s." 

t Ksempfer, 11. 9. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 91 

peans, are filled witli large and small craft. The shops and mar- 
kets teem with all sorts of commodities. In the towns there are 
large fairs, which attract a numerous concourse of people. The 
Chinese is the most important branch of their foreign trade. They 
import raw silk, sugar, turpentine, and drugs ; they export copper 
in bars, varnish, and gum-lac. According to Titsingh and Thun- 
berg, the profits of the Dutch trade to Japan are not very consid- 
erable ; two vessels only are employed in it. The Japanese 
money is singular in its form. Mr. Titsingh has some pieces in 
his possession which have a convex eliptical shape ; the gold pieces 
are called kohangs ; the silver ones, which are called kodama^ 
sometimes have a figure of Daikok, the god of riches, seated on 
two casks of rice, with a hammer in his right hand and a bag in 
his left.* M. Titsingh's collection of coins goes as far back as 600 
years before Christ. 

Such is this singular Asiatic country, too much extolled by the 
traveling naturalists, as Thunberg, and too much vilified by the 
missionaries. The former saw there only a magnificent botanic 
garden ; the latter, only the stains left by the blood of the martyrs. 
The description of Varenius and that of Valentine seem dictated 
by the discontents of the Dutch nation at the time at which they 
were composed. M. Titsingh, who, while exercising the functions 
of Dutch resident, conciliated the esteem and confidence of the 
princes of the imperial blood of Japan, is employed in a large his- 
torical, political and geographical work on this country, which he 
seems to have studied with greater deliberation and greater zeal 
than any one before him. 

The two chains of mountains which traverse Corea and Japan 
seem to approach one another, and to be continued along the bed 
of the sea, so as to form a series of little Archipelagoes, extending 
from Japan to the Island of Formosa. In this maritime region, 
which is little known, we find the state of Loo-choo^\ or Lequeyo. 
The difference in the orthography arises from this circumstance, 
that the Chinese letter k^ similar to the Swedish, has neither the 
sound of the English cA, or tch^ nor of the French k ; it, therefore, 
can only be imperfectly expressed by some combination of our con- 
sonants, as tk^ or tgh. This is a very flourishing state, and worthy 
of engaging our interest. For the first good information on the 
subject we are indebted to a Chinese ambassador named Soo-pa- 
koo-ang, who was sent thither in 1719, and from whose writings 

* Titsingh, Verhandelingen. t Lieu-Kieu. 



92 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

Father Graubil, the missionary, has extracted his account.* Kaemp- 
fer had indeed previously mentioned it under the name of the Is- 
lands of Liquejo, but in an obscure and general manner. A very 
few years ago, the principal island was visited by two British ves- 
sels, which had gone out with Lord Amherst to China, and took 
the opportunity of making this trip during that nobleman's stay. 

According to Gaubil, these islands form, as we have already 
stated, a sort of chain, or series of little Archipelagoes, extending 
from- Kiu-Siu, the most southerly of the great islands of Japan, to 
the Island of Formosa ; there are in all thirty-six, subject to the 
same government. To the south of Kiu-Siu, there are seven 
small islands, and a large one called Tanaxima, belonging to the 
Japanese empire, and to the south of these, eight others which 
belong to the king of Loo-Choo ; they are called Oofoo Chima, or 
the islands of Oofoo ; the principal one is called Oofoo, in the 
country itself, and Tatao, or " the G-reat Island," by the Chinese. 
These islands are fertile and populous, with the exception of Ki- 
kiai, which, however, like Oofoo, contains forests of fine large 
cedars. 

On the south-west of these is the great Island of Loo-Choo ; it 
is about fifty miles long and from twelve to fifteen broad. The 
king resides at its south end, in a palace called Cheoole, in the 
neighborhood of the capital Kien-Ching, which has a sea-port 
named Napakiang, at a distance of five miles ; this place was 
found, by the observations made on board the Alceste, to be in lat- 
itude aS'^' 15' N. and in 127® 52' 1" of east longitude ; this is its 
south-west point, the main body of the island extending from this 
north and a little easterly ; all the rocks about it are of coral, and 
immense masses, often of grotesque shapes, are seen everywhere 
along the sea-shore ; many of the same nature are found on the 
higher land, at a distance from the beach, the origin of which may 
be considered as problematical, and is supposed by some to have 
been disguised by the action of volcanic fire having raised them to 
an elevation beyond the reach of the ocean in which they were 
generated."!" ^*^ ^^^ ^^^^ °^ ^^^^ island there are ten others, well 
peopled and productive, with the exception of Lung-hoang-chu, or 
" the Sulphur Island," so called from the quantities of that sub- 
stance which it affords. To the east of Formosa there are seven- 
teen others, all dependent on the King of Loo-Choo. 

The natives trace their history back to a period long anterior to 

* Lettres Edifiantes, XIV. f See Captain Hall's account. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 93 

the Christian era ; but they had no communication with the rest 
of the world till about the year 605, when they were discovered by 
the Chinese, who found them the same agreeable and polished 
people as they now are, though perhaps less on the Chinese model 
in some particulars than they have since been. The only connec- 
tion which they have had with their neighbors has been with Japan 
and China, and even this has been very limited, nor, from what 
we know of these nations, are they liable to exhibit much change, 
or likely to have communicated variations of fashion or of habits to 
others. Gaubil says, that Loo-Choo was not subjugated till seven 
centuries after, or about the fourteenth century, and he adds, that 
before that time the great island was divided into three political 
communities, whence it is called in some maps, " the Island of the 
Three Kings." 

The climate of Loo-Choo is one of the most propitious in the 
world. Refreshed by the sea-breezes which blow over it at every 
period of the year, it is free from the extremes of heat and cold. 
The land does not contain those marshes which are so great a 
source of disease in the warmer latitudes, and the people appear to 
those who have visited them to enjoy robust health. Nature has 
been bountiful in all her gifts to that favored country. Such is the 
felicity of its soil and climate, that vegetable productions, very dif- 
ferent in their nature, and generally found in regions very distant 
from each other, grow here side by side. Not only the orange and 
the lime, but the Indian banyan and the Norwegian fir, the tea- 
plant and sugar-cane, all flourish together. It abounds in rice, 
wheat, melons, pine-apples, ginger, pepper, camphor, dye-woods, 
wood for fuel, silk, wax, and salt ; it also yields coral and pearls. 
The animals are oxen, sheep, horses, deer, and poultry. Almost 
the whole animal creation here is of diminutive size, but all excel- 
lent in their kind ; the bullocks seldom weigh more than 350 lbs. 
but are plump and well conditioned, and the beef very fine ; their 
goats and pigs are reduced in the same proportion, their poultry 
forming the only exception. 

The men are a very small race, the average height not exceed- 
ing five feet two inches, but sturdy and athletic ; the women are 
of corresponding stature. They have a good deal of the Corean 
physiognomy, with increased mildness. They have nothing of the 
drowsy and elongated eye of the Chinese. The few Chinese and 
their descendants settled here have no appearance of having freely 
mixed with the Loo-Chooans, both their features and dispositions 
being wholly distinct. They show no mixture of Indian blood, be- 



94 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

ing quite as fair as the soutLern Europeans ; even those who are 
most exposed, are scarcely so swarthy as persons of the same class 
of society in Spain and Portugal. They are a well-bred and cul- 
tivated race. They have a priesthood of Bonzes, who are gene- 
rally educated in Japan. Their books on religion, morality, and 
science, are in the Chinese character, but, for common purposes, 
the Japanese letters are employed. Their language differs both 
from the Chinese and Japanese, though possessing many words 
in common with both. The Emperor Kyang-Hi established a li- 
brary in the principal island in 1720, and ordered a temple to be 
built to Confucius. To the latest visitors, the crews of the AI- 
ceste and Lyra, this people appeared amiable in the highest degree. 
The friendliness and cordiality of the respectable persons who com- 
posed these crews gave them an opportunity of cultivating a 
knowledge of their character, and exchanging with them sentiments 
which did the highest honor to both parties, and appear peculiarly 
affecting as occurring between races who met from such an immense 
local distance, and had derived all their ideas from sources which 
in the lapse of ages had no mutual communication. On such scenes 
as are depicted in the narratives of Mr. 51'Leod, surgeon of the 
Alceste, and Captain Hall commanding the Lyra, the mind enjoys 
a most agreeable repose, af1:er having long traveled over pictures 
in moral and political geography which exhibit so many deplorable 
instances of the inhumanity arising from unrestrained passions, and 
from errors which generate antipathies that lacerate in the deepest 
manner the peace of society. The effect of this moral and social 
excellence is heightened by the delicious picture which the country, 
rich by nature and admirably improved by art, exhibits to the eye, 
refuting the dogmatism of those who maintain that the abundance 
of the means of pleasure has an invariable effect in vitiating the 
heart, and that virtue is nowhere to be found but in scenes in which 
the scantiness and simplicity of the gifts of nature, set limits to the 
wanderings of human inclination. 

" From a commanding height above the ships," says Mr. M'Leod, 
" the view, is in all directions, picturesque and delightful. On one 
hand are seen the distant lands rising from a wide expanse of 
ocean, while the clearness of the water enables the eye' to trace all 
the coral reefs which protect the anchorage immediately below. To 
the south is the city of Napafoo, the vessels lying at anchor in the 
harbor, with their streamers flying ; and in the intermediate space 
appear numerous hamlets scattered about on the banks of the rivers 
which meander in the valley beneath. Turning to the east, the 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 95 

houses of Kint-cliing, the capital city, built in their peculiar style, 
are observed opening from among the lofty trees which surround 
and shade them, rising one above another in gentle ascent to the 
summit of a hill, which is crowned by the king's palace 5 the inte- 
resting grounds between Napafo and Kint-ching, a distance of some 
miles, being ornamented by a continuation of villas and country 
houses. To the north, as far as the eye can reach, the higher 
land is covered with extensive forests." About half a mile from 
this eminence the traveler is led by a foot-path to what seems 
only a little wood ; on entering which, under an archway formed 
by the intermingling branches of the opposite trees, he passes along 
a serpentine labyrinth, intersected at short distances by others. 
Not far from each other, on either side of these walks, small wicker 
doors are observed ; on opening any of which he is surprised by 
the appearance of a court-yard and house, with the children, 
and all the usual cottage-train, generally gamboling about ; so 
that, while a man fancies himself in some sequestered retreat, 
he is in fact in the middle of a populous but invisible village. 

They found many of these islanders persons of great intelli- 
gence and address. One individual was particularly characterized, 
whose name was Madera, a man of rank and influence in the 
government, who came on board in the disguise of a person of mean 
condition, for the purpose of learning the character and intentions 
of these visitors, and gradually and frankly unfolded his real cha- 
racter in proportion as his confidence in this respect increased. A 
series of anecdotes is related, showing his aptness in acquiring both 
the language and the ideas of the English. He delighted in re- 
ceiving information ; and his remarks were always pertinent. The 
map of the world, with the track of the ship across the various 
oceans from Britain to Loo-Choo, with the different intervening 
continents and islands, when pointed out, he and others traced with 
great care, and seemed at last to comprehend, though such objects 
were entirely new to them, and though they appear to have had no 
idea of the figure or vast extent of the globe. Madera was gay or 
serious, as occasion required, "but always respectable, and all his 
countrjrmen seem to be gifted with a sort of politeness which 
might be fairly termed natural, having in it nothing constrained or 
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XACA DEITY OF JAPAN. 



OF JAPAN. 



[From the Wonders of Nature and Art. By the Rev. Thos. Smith. E-eyised 
by James Mease, M. D. 14 vols. Philadelphia : 1806. 



SITUATION, CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 

This large and powerful Empire consists of a great number of 
islands [3,S50,j between the eastern coast of Asia and the •western 
coast of America, extending from 130 to 147 degrees east longi- 
tude, and from 30 to 41 degrees north latitude. Though most of 
the European nations call this country Japan., the inhabitants give 
it the name of Niphon, from the largest island belonging to it ; and 
the Chinese call it Cklphon^ or the " Basis of the Sun," on account 
of its eastern situation. Most of the islands which compose it are 
environed by mountains, rocks, and a boisterous sea ; and the creeks 
and bays are so choked up with shoals, sand, or mud, that sailing 
about them is extremely dangerous. 

These islands, lying in the fifth and sixth climates, would be 
much hotter in summer than England, were they not refreshed by 
the sea-breezes, to which they are much exposed by their elevated 
situation. They have great falls of snow in winter, commonly fol- 
lowed by severe frosts. The rains in summer are very violent, 
particularly in June and July, which, on that account, are called 
the %(iaUr months ; and the country is also subject to dreadful storms 
of thunder and lightning, as well as hurricanes, which frequently 
do a great deal of damage. 

The soil is naturally sterile and mountainous, but the unremitting 
industry of the natives has been attended with such success, that it 
pi'oduces a variety of grain, fruits, &c., for exportation as well as 
for home consumption. The seas, lakes, and rivers abound with 
fish, red and white coral, pearls, marine plants, and shells, the last 
of which are not inferior to those that are brought from Amboyna, 



98 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

the Moluccas, and other easterly islands. The woods and forests 
are well stocked with horses, elephants, deer, oxen, buffaloes, sheep, 
hogs, and other useful animals ; and some of the mountains contain 
rich mines of gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, and iron, whilst others 
abound with several sorts of marble and precious stones. 

Among the great variety of trees found in this country, the 
cedars exceed all of that kind for straightness, height, and beauty ; 
and are found in great profusion on most of the principal islands. 
The Japanese citron is a thorny shrub, the trunk of which acquires, 
by age and culture, the thickness of a tree. The fruit resembles 
a middle-sized orange ; but the pulp is glutinous, of an unpleasant 
smell, and a harsh, disagreeable taste. 



VOLCANOES, SPRINGS, V7HIRLP00LS, &C. 

Japan is remarkable for its burning mountains ; particularly near 
Firando, there is a small, rocky island, that has been burning and 
trembling for many centuries, and at a small distance from the 
coast is another, which has thrown out lava and other combustible 
matter at different intervals, for many ages. 

Earthquakes are so frequent in Japan that the natives dread 
them no more than Europeans do storms of thunder and lightning ; 
and ridiculously imagine them to be caused by a huge whale creep- 
ing under the ground. Yet the shocks are sometimes so violent, 
and last so long, that whole cities are destroyed, and many thou- 
sands of the inhabitants buried under the ruins. Particularly in 
the year 1703, an earthquake, attended by a great fire, which 
broke out at the same time, destroyed almost the whole city of 
Jeddo, together with the king's palace, and two hundred thousand 
of the inhabitants. 

It ought not to be omitted that on the coast of Japan there are 
two remarkable and dangerous whii'lpools. One, near Simabara, 
is at high-water even with the surface of the sea ; but the tide no 
sooner begins to ebb, than, after some violent turnings, it suddenly 
sinks to the depth of fifteen fathoms, swallowing up with great 
force, the ships, boats, and whatever comes within its reach, dash- 
ing them to pieces against the rocks at the bottom, where they 
sometimes remain imder water, and at others are thrown out again 
at several miles distance. The other, which lies near the coast of 
the Province of Kijnokuni, rushes with a loud, boisterous noise, 
about a small, rocky island, which by the violence of the motion is 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 99 

kept in perpetual trembling. But, thougli this lias a very formi- 
dable appearance, it is esteemed less dangerous than the other ; 
for its noise being heard at a considerable distance, it may be 
easily avoided. 

BUILDINGS. 

The Japanese affect a plainness and neatness in their buildings. 
Their houses are mostly of wood, though som6 of the better sort 
have a stone foundation ; and they are but one story high, like 
those of China, on account of the frequent hurricanes and earth- 
quakes to which the country is subject. The chief furniture of the 
houses of the nobility is likewise rather elegant than sumptuous, 
consisting of cabinets, screens, beds, &c., of the best sort, but they 
do not affect a show of plate, jewels, and other costly ornaments. 
Porcelain vessels which the Japanese make very large and exqui- 
sitely fine, are the chief embellishments of their rooms, exeeptino- 
curious cimeters, and other kinds of armory, What appears most 
splendid are the ceilings of their halls, stair-cases, and summer- 
houses, which are commonly of fine cedar, and beautifully gilded 
and painted. Before their houses they have usually a spacious 
court, with an ascent of three or four steps, and a similar descent 
behind, which leads into the gardens. 

The palace of the Japanese Emperor at Jeddo, the capital of 
his dominioDS, is not less magnificent and spacious than that of the 
Emperor of China. It is surrounded by three high walls, and as 
many deep ditches, with large intervals between each ; and the 
water is conveyed from one ditch to another by subterranean pipes, 
so that they are always equally full. These walls have eight or 
nine stately gates opposite to each other, and between every two 
gates there is first a level piece of ground, and then an ascent by 
steps into certain outworks, with another area beyond them, where, 
a thousand men may be drawn up on any emergency ; so that the 
avenues to the imperial apartments are sufficiently secured. In 
the space between the first and second wall live the princes, chief 
nobility, and governors of the provinces, in stately edifices, accord- 
ing to their rank and office ; and the ornaments and furniture 
within are answerable to their external appearance ; it being 
esteemed a mark of respect to their monarch to strive to excel one 
another in the riches and splendor of their houses and furniture. 
Between the second and third wall live the Emperor's relations and 
principal counselors, each in separate apartments, or rather palaces, 



100 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

extremely grand and beautiful. In the centre of all, within the 
third inclosure, are the imperial apartments, consisting of a great 
number of spacious halls, lodgings, offices, &c., tor the Emperor, 
his wives, and attendants, all of them richly furnished. These 
apartments are three rows of buildings, nine stories high, formed 
on the top like pyramids, and crowned with large gilded dolphins. 
The ceilings of the halls and chambers are plated with gold and 
silver, curiously wrought, and enriched with a variety of precious 
stones. The hangings are of the richest silk, flowered with silver 
and gold, pearl, and other embellishments. In the hall of audience, 
where the Emperor receives homage or ambassadors, there is a 
throne of massy gold, set with large gems of inestimable value. 
The roof, which is very lofty, is also plated with gold, richly 
enameled with curious figures and landscapes, and supported by 
stately gilded columns. The gardens behind the apartments are 
laid out in an elegant taste, and are most agreeably diversified and 
adorned with terraces, canals, fish-ponds, water-works, and other 
ornaments. Nor must we omit to -qiention the noble theatre in the 
area before this inner court, v/here plays are frequently acted for 
the diversion of the imperial family. Upon the whole, this amaz- 
ing palace, or rather assemblage of palaces, which is five or six 
miles in circumference, looks like a populous and opulent city with- 
in itself, inhabited by princes and nobles, and by the eldest sons of 
all the great men of the empire, who are educated there, and kept 
as pledges of their fathers' fidelity. All these contribute to form 
a most splendid court, their dress, equipages, &c., being extremely 
beautiful and sumptuous. '\ 

At Meaco, formerly the capital of Japan, there is the. most 
magnificent and sumptuous temple in the whole empire. It is as 
long and as high as St. Paul's church in London, the dome ex- 
cepted, and is all built of free-stone. It has an arched roof, sup- 
ported by a great number of pillars ; and has a vast many altars 
and idols in it, particularly a gigantic one of gilt copper. This 
tefhple stands upon the top of a hill, and on each side of the ascent 
there are fifty stone pillars, ten paces distant from one another ; ou 
the tops of these are so many large lanterns or lamps, which being 
lighted in the night-time, make a pretty appearance. 

The temples at Jeddo are very numerous and splendid, particu- 
larly that of Amida, one of their principal deities, which is almost 
covered with gold. The statue of that deity is on horse-back, 
placed on a magnificent altar, covered with plates of the same 
metal : and the housino;s of the horse are also embroidered and 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 101 

enriched witli pearls, diamonds, and other gems of immense value. 
Nothing can be more ugly and frightful, however, than the figure in 
which he is represented ; and indeed many other idols of these 
eastern nations are formed in the most monstrous shapes ima- 
ginable. 

Of all the religious structures, however, in this country, that of 
Daibud is not only the largest, but the most remarkable. This 
temple stands on ninety-six pillars, and has several lofty, but nar- 
row entrances. The body of this pile consists as it were of two 
stories, which run into each other, and consequently have a double 
roof ; the uppermost of which is supported by painted pillars about 
two jj'ards in diameter. 

The image of the idol Daibud, which stood in the middle of the 
temple, is, on account of its enormous size, enough to strike any 
spectator with emotions of terror and awe. It is in a sitting pos- 
ture, and raised about two yards from the ground, with its legs 
placed before it, in the Indian manner. The ears are pendu- 
lous, the hair short and curling, the shoulders naked, the body 
covered with a wrapper, the right arm elevated, and the left laid 
edgewise against the belly. So enormous is the magnitude of this 
symbolical representation of the greatness of the deity, that six 
men may sit on the palm of his hand. This idol, and the sect that 
worships it, derive their origin from India, at some very remote 
period. 

M. Thunberg informs us, that his astonishment, at the contem- 
plation of this enormous statue, had not yet ceased, when he was 
carried to another temple, nearly as majestic, and worthy of ad- 
miration. This was dedicated to Quanwon, and his image, together 
with his dii minores, to the number, as it was said, of thirty-three 
thousand three hundred and thirty-three, are arranged in twelve 
rows within its walls. These are of different magnitudes, and are 
placed according to their height, the smallest being in front, so 
that they may be all seen at one view. 

The monstrous Colossus* at Meaco, is reckoned among the rarities 

* Tliis is a name given to any statue of an enormous or gigantic size. 
The most eminent of this kind was the Colossus of Rhodes, which was a 
brazen statue of Apollo, whose height was seventy cubits, or one hundred 
and five feet, and every part proportionable, the thumb being so big that 
few men could grasp it with their arms, and evei'y finger of the size of an 
ordinary statue. One of its feet stood on one side of the mouth of the 
harbor, and the other on the opposite side, so that ships tinder sail passed 
between its legs. It was the work of Chares, a disciple of Lysippus, w*"' 



102 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

of ttat country, and is therefore proper to be mentioned. It is 
one of their principal idols or deities, is all of gilt copper, and is 
seated in a chair seventy feet high. No less than fifteen men, 
they say, can stand conveniently on its head ; and, its other parts 
being proportionable, one may from thence form a judgment of its 
enormous size. The Japanese indeed, as well as the Chinese, are 
so addicted to idolatrous worship, that every place swarms with 
idols ; they have them not only in their temples, but in other pub- 
lic and private buildings, and even in their highways, streets, and 
markets. 



CUSTOMS, MANNERS, RELIGION, AND GOVERNMENT OF THE 
JAPANESE. 

The inhabitants of Japan are, in general, active, easy in their 
motions, and stout limbed ; though of inferior strength to the 
northern inhabitants of Europe. The men are of a middling size, 
and not much inclined to corpulency. Their skin is of a yellowisli 
color, sometimes bordering on brown, and sometimes on white, ac- 
cording to their exposure to the effects of the sun. Ladies of dis- 
tinction, who seldom go abroad without being covered from the sun 
and air, are remarkably fair. 

The distinguishing characteristic of the Japanese is their oblong, 
small eyes, in which respect they resemble the Chinese. Their 
eye-brows are also placed pretty high, and the eyelids form, in the 
great angle, a deep furrow. Their heads are generally large ; their 

spent twelve years in making it ; and, after it had stood above 1300 years, 
it was thrown down by an earthquake. When the Saracens made them- 
selves masters of Rhodes, the statue was found upon the ground broken 
and demolished, and was sold to a Jew, who loaded nine hundred camels 
with the metal ; which, therefore, allowing eight hundred weight to each 
load, (besides the diminution we may supjDose it had suifered by rust and 
theft in a long course of time), amounted to 720,000 pounds weight, or 
three hundred and sixty tons — a prodigious quantity of brass to be em- 
ployed in forming one single statue ! Some of the moderns have doubted 
"whether there ever was such a statue at Ehodes as the Colossus above de- 
scribed, and indeed the extravagar t dimensions ascribed to it would tempt 
one to doubt the truth of the relation. But, being mentioned by so many 
writers of reputation, it is more than probable that there was at Rhodes 
an image of a prodigious .size, dedicated to the sun ; though the hyperbo- 
lical or figurative expressions, used by some writers, concerning it, may 
have given occasion to others to magnify its dimensions considerably 
beyond the truth. 



JAP4N AND THE JAPANESE. 103 

necks short ; their hair black, thick, and glossy ; their noses, though 
not flat, are rather short and thick. 

These people may, in general, be reckoned intelligent, brave, 
courteous, industrious, frugal, and upright ; but, at the same time, 
those virtues are frequently tarnished by the opposite vices. In 
all their enterprises they display sense and steadiness, as far as the 
lights they have received can be supposed to guide them ; and in- 
stead of being ranked among savage nations, they must be allowed 
to have made very great advances in civilization. Their mode of 
government, their regulations respecting foreign commerce, their 
manufactures and industry, evince proofs of policy, steadiness, and 
spirit. Far from indulging in the idle vanity of personal decora- 
tions, which, among some Oriental nations, are most ridiculously 
tawdry, they study merely comfort and convenience, and leave glit- 
tering finery to the slaves of fashion or extravagance. 

Liberty is the ruling passion of the Japanese ; but it is liberty 
founded on order and secured by law — not the wild fire of anarchy 
and licentiousness. They are submissive to the laws, not to any 
arbitrary power ; and they execrate the inhuman traffic in slaves, 
which the Dutch and other nations carry on. 

The rights and immunities of the rich and the indigent are 
equally protected ; and the uncommon severity of the laws, joined 
to the certain execution of them, serves to keep every one within 
proper bounds. Even foreigners are secured in all their established 
rights ; nor are there any fraudulent attempts or open attacks 
made on them, while they refrain from encroachments on the 
natives. 

Some of the institutions of this Empire are unparalleled in the 
whole world. It is death for a native to leave the empire ; nor 
are any strangers sufi'ered to come among them, except a few Dutch 
.and Chinese, who are watched like state prisoners. 

With respect to courtesy and submission to their superiors, few 
nations can be compared to the Japanese. Subordination to 
government and obedience to their parents, are inculcated into 
children in their early infancy ; and in every situation of life they 
are, in this respect, instructed by the example rather than the 
precepts of their elders. Various modes of salutation are estab- 
lished between difi'erent ranks, and these are strictly and invariably 
attended to. 

They carry their curiosity and inquisitiveness to a great length, 
which may be ascribed to their desire to obtain information. They 
frequently tire the Dutch with their questions, which, however, 



X04 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

always display shrewdness and a love of knowledge. The physi- 
cian who attends the factory, is highly regarded by the Japanese 
on account of his learning ; and they consult him as an oracle, not 
only on subjects connected with his profession, but on every branch 
of science which they presume he must be acquainted with. 

Frugality seems to have fixed its residence in Japan, for this 
virtue is ecpally esteemed in the impei'ial palace as in the poorest 
cottage. It is in consequence of this, that the lowest ranks are 
contented with their humble pittance, because they are not morti- 
fied with the sight of the accumulated stores of the rich, dissipated 
in wantonness and luxury. And it is a remarkable fact, that, in 
this populous empire, scarcely a beggar or a needy person is to be 
found. 

The major part of the people are neither parsimonious nor ava- 
ricious ; but they have a rooted aversion to intemperance in eating 
and drinking. As the soil is solely devoted to the production of 
necessaries, so those necessaries are not wasted by converting them 
to noxious or idle purposes. 

Of their good nature and hospitality M. Thunberg had many 
convincing proofs, even though they have too much reason to detest 
the Europeans, who traffic with them, for bad conduct and fraudu- 
lent dealings. They are lofty, it is true, and cannot be moved by 
menaces ; but they may be soothed to tenderness by mild conduct, 
and brought to listen to reason. 

Justice is universally worshiped, not in form but in reality. 
The monarch never injures any of his neighbors ; and no instance 
is to be found in which he ever appeared ambitious of extending 
his dominions by conquest. Numberless proofs are recorded of the 
heroism of the people against foreign invasion or internal disorder ; 
but not one can be produced of their encroachments upon the lands 
or properties of others. 

In their tribunals, causes are adjudged without delay and with- 
out partiality. The guilty find no asylum ; the innocent need no 
advocate. Even in their engagements with Europeans, no articles 
of a treaty once concluded is ever altered, unless by the fault of 
the latter. 

Superstition is one great defect in their character ; but this is 
owing to their ignorance, not only of science, but of true religion. 
Pride also is another great vice in this nation. They believe they 
are descended from the gods ; and consequently regard Europeans 
as beings of a very inferior rank in the scale of creation. 

Of their valor and unconquerable spirit there are many proofs, 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 105 

and snch. as might be regarded as romantic, were they not verified 
bj historical evidence. 

As on the one hand the Japanese are haughty and intrepid, so 
on the other they are resentful and unforgiving. They do not, 
however, show their hatred by violence or warmth of temper, but 
with an unconceivable sang froid^ wait with patience for an oppor- 
tunity of revenge. Abuse them, despise them, or touch their 
honor as much as you please, they will never answer a single word 
but merely with a long eh ! eh ! testify, as it were, their surprise, 
and brood in silence over their revenge, which no justification, nor 
length of time, nor change of circumstances can ever efface till they 
have executed their malice. 

Their language is written like that of the Chinese, in straight 
lines, upwards and downwards ; but the letters are entirely diife- 
rent, and the tongue on the whole so dissimilar, that those two 
neighboring nations cannot understand each other without an inter- 
preter. The Chinese language, however, is much read and written 
at Japan, and is used by the learned in particular. Strangers are 
strictly prohibited from learning Japanese ; yet M. Thunberg con- 
trived to make some progress in the current tongue of this country, 
and even formed a vocabulary of some of its most usual colloquial 
terms. 

The dress of Japan is perfectly national and uniform. From 
the monarch to the lowest subject, it has undergone no variation 
from caprice, fashion, or any other cause, for the space of two 
thousand five hundred years. It consists universally of long and 
wide night-gowns, of different lengths, according to sex or situation, 
and of different degrees of fineness, according to the circumstances, 
of the wearer. The men seldom wear more than two or three of 
them at once ; but the women have often thirty or forty of them, 
all so thin, as not to weigh more, collectively, than four or five 
pounds. These gowns are fastened round the body by a belt, 
which, for the men, is about four inches broad, and for the women 
twelve inches, tied in a knot or rose. In this the males fasten 
their sabre, fan, tobacco-pipe and pouch, and sometimes their 
medicine-box. 

Stockings are not wanted, because the night-gowns. descend to 
the ankles ; but spatterdashes are sometimes made of cotton-stuff. 
The shoes are the meanest part of the Japanese attire, and they 
are generally made of rice straw ; but people of distinction have 
fine slips of ratan. The Japanese never enter their houses with 
their shoes on, but always leave them at the door. 



106 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

The mode in wMch this people dress the hair is peculiar to 
themselves, and at the same time as general as the use of the 
night-gown. The men shave the whole of their head down to the 
nape of the neck, leaving, however, some on the temples, which 
being greased and turned back, is tied with that remaining behind 
at the top of the head, with several rounds of white string made 
of paper. Priests, physicians, and 3-ouths before the age of matu- 
rity, are the only persons who are exempted from this custom. 
The two former shave their heads all over ; and boys suffer their 
hair to grow till such time as their beards begin to appear. 

The Kubo, or secular emperor, is lord of the whole country, and 
under him rules a prince or governor in each province. The 
princes that are first in dignity are called Daimio ; those of an in- 
ferior rank Siomio. If any of them be guilty of misdemeanors, 
he is amenable to the Emperor, who can dismiss him, banish him 
to some island, or even inflict capital punishment upon him. It is 
also incumbent on all those princes to perform a journey annually 
to the imperial court, to reside there sis months, and to keep their 
family constantly there, as hostages for their allegiance. 

But besides this monarch, there is a spiritual or ecclesiastical 
emperor called the Dairi, whose power at present is wholly confined 
to the concerns of religion, and the establishment of the church ; 
nevertheless, this spiritual regent derives his descent in a direct and 
uninterrupted line from the ancient rulers of the country, for more 
than the period of two thousand years. 

The veneration which is paid to the Dairi falls little short of 
those divine honors which are alone due to the Deity. He is 
brought into the world, lives, and dies within the precincts of his 
court. His hair, nails, and beard are esteemed so sacred, that they 
are never suffered to be cleaned or cut by day-light, but only in 
the night, and when he is asleep. He n^ver eats out of the same 
plate, nor drinks out of the same cup more than once ; but such 
vessels are constantly broken to pieces, that they may not fall into 
unhallowed hands. 

Within the precincts of his palace scarcely any know his 
name till after his decease. His whole court, with very few 
exceptions, are of his own race ; all of whom, who are not pro- 
moted at the secular court, have rich benefices and convents given 
them. 

The Dairies power, however, is much retrenched ; and he now 
derives his principal revenues from the city and district of Meaco, 
from a stipulated allowance from the Kubo''s treasury, and from 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 107 

titles whicli lie has the exclusive right of conferring ; even the 
secular eraperor receives titles of distinction from his hand. 

The Kubo is obliged to consult a council of six persons, who are 
mostly men in years, and possessed of sound judgment. Besides 
the considerable presents he receives from the governors of pro- 
vinces, he has certain crown lands and imperial cities, which are 
more particularly his property ; and their native produce or manu- 
facture is taxed to his revenue. In the same manner each of the 
princes derives a tribute fi'om his respective .province, with which 
he maintains his household troops, defrays the expenses of keeping 
the roads in repair, and supports his family in the necessary style 
of dignity. 

The military weapons of Japan consist of bows, arrows, cirae- 
ters, halberts, and guns. Their bows are very large', and their 
arrows long. Fire-locks are not in common use in the army ; they 
are chiefly possessed by persons of consequence, and are always 
displayed in their apartments on an elevated stand. They have a 
few pieces of artillery at Nagasaki, and at the imperial palace at 
Jeddo, which seem to have been formerly taken from the Portu- 
guese, and are only used in saluting, or perhaps are neglected for 
seven years together. 

The cimeter is the chief and choicest weapon, and this is con- 
stantly worn by every person above the rank of a peasant. It ia 
about a yard in length, somewhat inclining to a curve, and has a 
broad back ; the blade is of incomparable good temper, and the 
oldest are always the most valued. They are far preferable to the 
Toledos, and will cut a large nail without turning the edge. Ac- 
cording to the Japanese accounts, they will cleave a man asunder 
from head to foot. 

A good cimeter is frequently sold for a hundred rix-dollars, and 
it is considered by the natives as the most precious part of their 
property. The hilt is furnished with a round and substantial 
guard, without any bow, and is full six inches long. The scabbard 
is thick and rather flat, and sometimes covered with the finest sha- 
green. They never use an appropriate belt ; but always stick the 
cimeter into their girdle on the left side, with the edge upwards, 
which looks extremely ridiculous. 

Most crimes are punished with death, a sentence which is inflicted 
with less regard to the magnitude of the crime, than to the auda- 
city of the attempt to transgress the hallowed laws of the empire, 
and to violate justice. 

Fines and pecuniary mulcts, they regard as equally repugnant to 



108 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

reason and equity ; as the rich are thereby absolved from all ptin- 
ishnient ; a procedure which seems to be the very height of 
absurdity and iniquity. If the horrid crime of murder be per- 
petrated in a town, not only the murderer himself, but sometimes 
his relations, dependents, and neighbors, are involved in the 
calamity, accordiag as they have been more or less accomplices 
in the crime, or have neglected the means of preventing its 
perpetration. 

Dealing in contraband goods is death without mercy ; and the 
punislnnent extends to every individual concerned in the trafiic, 
both buj^er and seller. The general mode of executing the sen- 
tence of the law, is by decapitation with a cimeter in prison ; 
though crucifixion and other painful modes of death are sometimes 
exhibited in public, by way of terror. 

Paganism is universally prevalent in Japan ; but the different 
religious sects are numerous, and maintain very opposite tenets ; 
yet, notwithstanding this, they live together in great harmony and 
concord, nor consider difference of opinion as a cause of dissension. 
The ecclesiastical emperor appoints the principal priests ; and every 
sect has its respective temples and idols. 

The number of these fictitious deities is so great, that almost 
every trade has its tutelar}' divinity, after the manner of the ancient 
Greeks and Romans, The Japanese, however, are not wholly 
ignoraat of the existence of an eternal, omnipotent Spirit, supreme 
in power and might ; but their knowledge in this respect is blended 
with fable and obscured by mystery. 

Their temples, of which we have already observed, they have a 
great variety, are generally built in the suburbs of towns, on the 
highest and most eligible spots. The priests in each are very nu- 
merous, though they perform scarcely any other functions than to 
keep the temple clean, to light the fires and lamps, and to present 
offerings of flowers to their idols. No sermons are preached, no 
hymns are sung ; but such as please to pay their devotions, are at 
all times welcome to approach, and to leave their offerings. Even 
strangers are not forbidden to enter these sanctuaries of religion ; 
and when there is a difficulty in procm-ing other lodgings, they may 
be accommodated in them. 

They have some confused notions of the immortality of the soul, 
and of a future state of rewards and punishments. According to 
their tradition, the souls of the virtuous have a place assigned them 
immediately under heaven, while those of the wicked are doomed 
to wander to and fro under the canopy of the sky, in order to 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE, 109 

expiate their sins. Consequently the transmigration of souls lias 
no place in their faith. 

The whole tenor of their doctrine has no other object than to 
render mankind virtuous in this life ; their chief and universal care 
is, to preserve a good conscience, and to pay due obedience to the 
laws of their sovereign. They abstain from animal food, are loth 
to shed blood, and will not touch any dead body. Whoever offends 
in these points is considered unclean for a certain period. The 
only devils they acknowledge, are those which reside as souls in 
foxes ; these animals being considered as very noxious and danger- 
ous in this country. 

Though the professors of this religion are persuaded that their 
gods know all things, and that therefore it is unnecessary to pray 
to them, they have, nevertheless, both churches and stated holidays. 
Their gods, or idols, they denominate Sin, or Kami ; and their 
churches are called Mia. In these edifices there is no visible re- 
presentation of the Almighty, though they sometimes keep a little 
image in a box, the emblem of the inferior divinity, to whom the 
temple is dedicated. 

The usual holidays in Japan are the first day of every month, 
when they rise early in the morning, dress themselves in their best 
attire, and pay their respects to their friends and superiors, wishing 
them joy of the new month. This custom has been universally 
observed from very remote ages. The full of the moon, or the 
15th day, is another holiday, on which people resort to the temples 
in greater numbers than on the first. The third festival is of 
less consequence, and falls on the 2Sth, or the day before the new 
moon. 

Besides these monthly festivals, they celebrate five more, the 
first and principal of which is New Year's Day. The country at 
this time is given up to pastime and festivity ; and indeed the whole 
of the first month is set apart for pleasure throughout the empire. 
The second annual festival falls on the third day of the third 
month ; the third on the fifth day of the fifth month ; the fourth 
on the seventh day of the seventh month ; and the filfth on the 
ninth day of the ninth month. All these making uneven numbers 
are reckoned unlucky days, and no business is undertaken on them, 
but they spend them in mirth and mutual congratulations. It is a 
maxim among the Japanese, that the gods take delight in seeing 
mankind joyful and happy ; and in this respect they honor their 
benignity and other lovely attributes. 

Pilgrimages are annually performed, to some of the most cele- 



110 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE, 

brated temples, particularly to tlie temple of Isie, wliicli is conse- 
crated to Tensio-Dai-Sin, the most ancient of their gods. This 
temple is very old, and has no other ornaments than a mirror, and 
slips of white paper, hung about the walls, denoting that nothing 
impure can be acceptable to Grod ; and that from his all-seeing eye 
nothing can be hid. 

The Emperor, who cannot personally visit this temple, an- 
nually sends an ambassador in his stead ; and all his subjects, 
of every rank and condition, are bound to undertake a pilgri- 
mage hither at least once in their lives ; though many, from a 
principle of devotion, go very often, and sometimes practice great 
austerities. 

Nunneries have been established in this country upwards of a 
thousand years, though with respect to number, they fall infinitely 
short of those in Europe. 

The Christian religion was first planted in Japan by the Jesuit 
missionaries in 1549, and in a short time made a rapid progress. 
But the Portuguese, inflated with their success, and relying on the 
number of their proselytes, began to behave with pride and ava- 
rice, which occasioned difierent persecutions ; and in 1596, having 
superciliously treated a prince of the empire, their doom was 
sealed ; and they were not only extirpated themselves, but all their 
converts were put to the sword, after an unremitting persecution 
of forty years. 

The Japanese being persuaded that the unwarrantable conduct 
of the Christians, was the inseparable consequence of their doc- 
trines, took, from that time the most efficacious means to prevent 
the true faith from ever being re-established in their dominions, 
and the Portuguese were strictly prohibited from ever approaching 
theu' coasts. The Portuguese, indeed, richly merited their fate ; 
for it afterwards appeared, that they had entered into a conspiracy 
against the emperor and government. This being discovered by 
the Dutch, then at war with them, and communicated to the im- 
perial court, gained that nation the establishment they have since 
enjoyed. 

The year in this country is measured by lunations, so that some 
have twelve, and others thirteen mouths ; consequently the termi- 
nation and commencement of the year are not on the same day, or 
always in the same month. Every fifteenth day is allowed for a 
cessation from labor. Day and night taken together, are divided 
into twelve hours only ; and the whole year through, they regulate 
themselves by the rising and setting of the sun. The hour of sis 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. Ill 

they reckon at sun-rise, and the same at sun-set, so that noon and 
midnight are alwciys at nine. 

Time is measured by burning matches, twisted like ropes, and 
divided by knots. When one of these, after being lighted up, has 
burned to a knot, which denotes the elapse of ascertain portion of 
time, in the day, this is made known by certain strokes on bells, 
and in the night, by striking two pieces of wood against each other. 
The Japanese era commences with Nin-o, sis hundred and sixty 
years before the birth of Christ. 

A few days after the commencement of the new year, the horrid 
ceremony is performed of trampling on such images as represent 
the Cross, the Virgin Mary, and her Divine Son. This is done for 
the sake of imprinting on the mind of the people an abhorrence 
of the Christian doctrine, which the Portuguese attempted to in- 
troduce, and, at the same time, to discover if any remains of it 
still exist in Japan ; for which reason the ceremony is chiefly per- 
formed in such places as were formerly most frequented by the 
Christians. In the town of Nagasaki it continues four days, after 
which the images are laid by till the next year. Every native in- 
habitant except the governor and his attendants, must be present 
at this diabolical ceremony ; but it is not true, as some have pre- 
tended, that the Dutch residents are obliged to participate in it. 

Philosophers and moralists are regarded in this country in the 
same light as priests and sacred persons ; and their tenets are em- 
braced with equal ardor with those of the spiritual sects. The 
morality of Confucius is in high estimation. This, it is well known, 
originated in China, and seems to resemble the ancient doctrines 
of Epicurus. 

Ladies do not eat with the men, but by themselves. Rice sup- 
plies the place of bread, and is boiled with every kind of provisions. 
Fish and fowls are very plentiful, and are eaten in abundance ; but 
miso-soup,* boiled with fish and onions, is the customary food of the 
common people. 

Tea and sakki constitute the principal beverage of the Japanese ; 
for wine and distilled liquors they can scarcely be prevailed on to 
taste. Hitherto they have not suiFered themselves to be corrupted 
by European modes of living, but still retain their original tempe- 
rance and frugality. 

Sakki is a kind of fermented liqiior prepared from rice. It is 
tolerably bright, and bears some resemblance to wine, though its 

* Misos are small beans like lentils, the produce of tlie delichos soja. 



112 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

taste is somewhat singular, and not very palatable. When fresh, 
it is whitish, but afterwards it acquires a brown color, from lying in 
wooden casks. This drink is vended in every tavern, and is used 
to promote hilarity as well as at meals. It is alwaj's drank warm 
by the Japanese,, and when taken in any quantity, soon heats and 
inebriates them ; but its effects vanish in a few minutes, and are 
generally succeeded by a disagreeable head-ache. It is sometimes 
transported to Batavia as an article of commerce ; but there it is 
drank cold before meals, in order to create an appetite. 

Tea is in such universal use, that no person of any rank under- 
takes a journey, without a servant to carry his tea-equipage. The 
tea-shrub is indigenous here, and is met with most frequently on 
the borders and margins of cultivated lands, or on such .moun- 
tains and downs as are incapable of being cultivated to better 
advantage. 

Though gravity forms the general character of this nation, they 
have, nevertheless, their pleasures, their sports, and festivities. 
Some of these are connected with their religion, others may in 
many respects be compared to European plays or interludes. 

Of those which have a relation to their religious belief, the lan- 
tern-festival, or feast of lamps, is one of the most remarkable. It 
is celebrated towards the end of August, and lasts for three days. 
The Japanese call it Bang ; and it was originally instituted in 
memory and honor of the dead, who, they believe, return annually 
to their kindred and friends, on the first afternoon of these games, 
where they remain till the second night, on which they are again 
sent away. 

To welcome them on their arrival, they hang a number of lamps 
round the tombs on bamboo stakes ; and when the souls of the 
deceased are to take their leave, they fabricate a small vessel of 
straw, filled with lights which they carry at midnight in procession, 
with music and loud cries, and launch it on the waves, where it is 
left to be consumed or swallowed up. 

Dr. Thunberg had an opportunity of seeing plays acted several 
times, both in Nagasaki and afterwards on his journey to the impe- 
rial court at Osaka. The actors are always dressed in a very 
grotesque manner, so that a stranger would be apt to imagine they 
exhibited themselves to frighten, rather than to entertain the audi- 
ence. Their gestures are equally uncouth and extravagant ; and 
the plots are of a piece with the acting. In short, the dramatic 
performances of Japan can, in no respect, be. put in competition 
with those of Europe. But they have the same purpose every 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 113 

where — to amuse the idle and frivolous, and to fill the pockets of 
the players. 

Among the games played by the Japanese, is one called siohouiSy 
or the game of the goose. In playing this they make use of a 
thick checkered paper, with different figures delineated on each 
square. A die being thrown, each person marks his chance on the . 
representations in the square. 

Marriages are solemnized here with little pomp, and generally on 
an eminence without the towns, in the presence of the relations 
and priests. The bridegroom and bride advance together to an 
altar erected for that purpose, each holding a torch, while the 
priest is employed in reading a certain form of prayer. The 
bride then lights her torch, and holds it out to the bridegroom, 
who kindles his from it ; and the congratulations of the guests 
terminate the ceremony. Polygamy is not allowed here, nor are 
the women confined ; but divorces and mistresses, or concubines, 
are tolerated. 

The married women are generally distinguished from the single, 
by having their teeth stained black, which, in their opinion, is a 
capital charm, but in the eyes of an European, is very disgusting. 
This black dye is derived from urine, filings of iron, and sakki ; it 
is foetid and corrosive, and eats deeply into the teeth. Some begin 
to use this ornament as soon as they are betrothed, as a mark of 
consequence. 

M. Thunberg observes, that, however much strangers are de- 
spised or feared by the Japanese, on the sea-coast, nothing could 
exceed the civility and respect with which he and his retinue were 
received in their journey to the imperial court. When they ar- 
rived on the borders of a province, they were always met by a 
deputy from the governor, who tendered them his services, and saw 
them safe through his master's jurisdiction ; and, in short, had the 
embassy been composed of princes of the country, they could not 
have experienced more homage and attention. Even the lower 
class of the people exhibited the same tokens of submission as they 
do to their own grandees of the first rank ; they bowed their heads, 
and frequently turned their backs, which is a sign of high respect, 
as intimating an acknowledgment that they were unworthy to look 
on them. 

The roads in Japan are broad, and furnished with ditches to 
carry ofi" the water. They are generally kept in good repair ; but 
before the Dutch make their annual journey to the capital, they 
are freshly strewed with sand, and every species of filth is removed. 



] 14 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

In hot and dusty weather, they are also watered ; and their sides 
are frequently planted with hedges of various kinds. 

Mile-posts are set up, which not only indicate the distance, but 
also point out the road ; and, in fact, nothing is omitted that can 
contribute to the security and accommodation of the traveler, 
which might be expected among a people far advanced in civiliza- 
tion. The roads of Japan, however, when once made, cost little 
to keep them in a perfect state of repair. No wheel-carriages for 
pleasure are known in this empire ; and travelers either go on foot 
or on horseback, unless they are of high rank, when they are car- 
ried in cangos, which bear some resemblance to the shape of a 
sedan-chair, but are destitute of its elegance or convenience. 

The Japanese either burn their dead or bury them in the earth. 
The former seems to have been the most ancient practice, though 
it is now less prevalent than the other, except for persons of dis- 
tinction. The ashes are carefully collected, and after some time 
are buried in the earth. 

When a prince or grandee dies, there are commonly ten or 
twenty youths of his household, and such as were his greatest 
favorites, who put themselves to a voluntary death at the place 
where his body is burned ; and their ashes are generally deposited 
in a magnificent sepulchre. 



ARTS, MANUFACTURES, COMMERCE, ETC. 

The Japanese are very ingenious in most handicraft trades, and 
excel the Chinese in several manufactures, particularly in the 
beauty and variety of their silks, cottons, and other stuffs ; and it 
is universally allowed, that no other nation comes up to them in the 
tempering and fabricating of swords, cimeters, and other weapons. 
They are also particularly famous for their beautiful cabinets, and 
for their fine varnish and lacquer, which are also valuable, that a 
quantity of the best sort made in Japan will sell for twenty times 
as much as an equal quantity of that which is made in Europe.* 

Paper is fabricated in Japan from the bark of the moms papy- 
'>-ife,ra^'\ a species of mulberry, and sometimes from the morus 
indica. It is used for a variety of purposes, not usual in other 
countries, and its manufacture is consequently very considerable. 

[* The tree -which yields this valuable yarnish is the 7-hus vernix, a na- 
tive of Pennsylvania.] 

[t This tree flourishes in Pennsylvania.] 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 115 

Filagree-work in gold and silver, is made both in China and 
Japan ; but it seems to have been originally invented by the natives 
of Sumatra, who are celebrated for producing such elegant work, 
with tools that an European could not deem suflS.ciently perfect for 
the most ordinary purposes. 

Though the Japanese have made as much progress in science as 
can be expected from the opportunities they have been favored 
with, yet it is not to be expected that they have reached the heights 
of Europeans in this respect. Astronomy is in great favor and 
repute, but they are unable without the aid of Chinese almanacs 
to form a true calendar, or to calculate eclipses with precision. 
Medicine, from their ignorance of anatomy, can never become very 
flourishing ; the knowledge of diseases is extremely imperfect ; and 
botanical medicines constitute the whole of their remedies ; and 
even their simples are used only in diuretic and diaphoretic decoc- 
tions. Their physicians feel the pulse, but very tediously — not 
quitting it for a quarter of an hour, and examining first one, and 
then the other arm, being totally unacquainted with the circulation 
of the blood. Of natural philosophy and chemistry they have 
little idea, except what they have borrowed from their intercourse 
with Europeans. 

[One of their remedies is the vioxa^ a caustic, applied in almost 
every disease. It is made of the leaves of the ariemisia vulgarisj 
or mugwort, and being set on fire, is placed on the part affected. 
The flame is not visible. The astrologers are consulted on the oc- 
casion, who have fingers of the human body, drawn like the man in 
our almanacs, with all its parts marked, to which moza is to be 
applied. Pricking with the needle, is also in iise, for a dreadful 
species of colic, common in Japan. A similar method of cure is 
pi'acticed in China, according to Dr. Grillan, physician to Macart- 
ney's embassy. 

The famous catechu or Terra Jajponica^ is an extract from the 
mimosa catechu^ a small tree, which also grows on the mountains in 
India ; not the areca catechu^ as has been supposed. It is sold, per- 
fumed, in Japan, and used chiefly by the women to fasten their 
teeth, and give a sweetness to their breath. It is powerfully 
astringent, and frequently used by us in cases of relaxations of the 
bowels.] 

They pretend, like the Chinese, to have been the inventors of 
printing, and they excel that people in the neatness of cutting their 
wooden blocks as well as the goodness of their ink and paper ; but 
they are totally unacquainted with the use of fusible types. 



116 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

The coins used in this country are of various denominations ; 
such as Old Kobangs, New Kobangs, Itjibs, Itoganne, Kodama, 
Nandiogin, Kosju, Seni, Kir, and Gomome Gin. They are gene- 
rally simple and unadorned, and many have no determined value, 
so that it is indispensably necessary to weigh them. The Kobang 
is the largest Japanese gold coin, and ought rather to be considered 
as a medal than a piece of money ; it is a flat, oblong plate of 
gold, rounded off at the four corners, nearly of the thickness of a 
farthing, and is stamped on one side with fine lines and different 
impressions of the Dairi's arms. On the reverse are inscribed 
several large letters, authenticating the genuineness of the coin. 
Among the silver coins, the KodamS is the most variable, as 
well with respect to its shape and size as to the impression it 
bears. Of this coin some are oblong, circular, convex, flat, and 
spherical. 

Sometimes they are stamped with more, sometimes with fewer 
letters ; and occasionally they only bear the image of Daikokf, the 
Plutus* of Japan, or the merchant's god. He is represented sit- 
ting on two barrels of rice, with a hammer in his right hand and a 
sack at his left ; and the Japanese believe him to be invested with 
the power of producing in any spot which he strikes with his ham- 
mer, whatever he is for the moment disposed to have. 

Vessels about ninety feet long rank among the largest built in 
this country ; nor are any other allowed, lest some of the natives 
should be tempted to go to sea in them, and quit the empire. 
They are generally constructed of fir or cedar, and, properly speak- 
ing, have only one deck, though the cabin, which is tolerably large 
and commodious, forms another partial deck. The most singular 
circumstance, however, is, that the cabin projects over both sides 
of the bark, and, of course, has not a very elegant appearance. 
During fine weather, these vessels are rowed ; and when they arrive 
in any harbor, the mast is commonly struck, and an awning spread, 
which protects the passengers from the weather. 

The Islands of Japan were accidentally discovered by the Por- 
tuguese in 1542, from being driven on their coasts by a storm ; and 
the discoverers were not only well received, but carried on a lucra- 
tive trade with the natives for nearly a hundred years. The Eng- 
lish also had some traffic with these distant islands ; but in 160], 

* By the favor of a Japanese interpreter, M. Thunberg procured a 
series of the ancient coins of Japan, some of them upwards of a thousand 
years old, which, at his return to his native couutrj^ he presented to the 
valuable collection of his Swedish majesty at Drotningholm. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 117 

the Dutch supplanted all the other nations of Europe, and obtained 
a naonopoly, which at first was highly beneficial, but has been gra- 
dually cramped till it ceases to yield much profit. Indeed, the 
jealousy of the Japanese and the avarice of the Dutch, have gone 
hand in hand to occasion this diminution of commercial advantages ; 
for, in proportion as the latter attempted to secure illicit gain, the 
former abridged the immunities they had originally granted. 

Nagasaki harbor is the only place where the Dutch and Chinese 
ships are allowed to enter. The town is one of the five called Im- 
perial ; and on account of its foreign commerce, is one of the most 
bustling in the empire. It belongs separately to the secular em- 
peror, who appoints a governor in his name, who is annually 
changed ; but, after the expiration of a year, generally returns to 
his post ; so that, in fact, there are two governors, one in office and 
the other out. 

The town is surroimded on the land-side by high mountains, that 
slope off gradually toward the harbor, which is generally full of 
shipping. 

The Island of Dezima, which the Dutch rent for a factory, may 
be considered merely as a street belonging to Nagasaki. It has a 
communication with it by a bridge, and at low water is only sepa- 
rated from it by a ditch. Dezima is only six hundred paces long, 
and one hundred and twenty in breadth ; and in this small place 
the Dutch are cooped up, guarded in the day time, and locked in 
at night. The company's store-houses are fire-proof; but the 
other buildings are all constructed of wood and clay, in the style of 
Nagasaki. On this island the interpreters have their college, 
where a great number of them assemble during the trafficking sea- 
son ; but when the ships are gone, only one or two come there, who 
are regularly relieved every day. 

The Chief for the Dutch commerce is changed annually. Form- 
erly, when trade was more flourishing, two voyages thither were 
sufficient to make his fortune ; but now he is obliged to make three 
or four, to procure a competency. Two ships annually sail from 
Batavia, and return about the end of the year. The princi- 
pal exports from Japan are copper, camphor, lacquered wood- 
work, porcelain, silks, rice, and other articles. The copper is 
the finest in the world, and is cast into small bars, of a lively bright 
color. 

The imports to Japan by the Dutch, are sugar, elephants' teeth, 
eappan wood, tin, lead, bar-iron, chintzes, Dutch cloth, cloves, tor- 
toise-shell, China root, and Costus Arabicus. The private trade 



118 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

includes a number of inferior articles, sucli as saffron, Yenice 
treacle, ratans, spectacles, mirrors, watches, &c. 

Among the articles of private trade, we must notice unicorns' 
horns, for the Japanese have an extraordinary opinion of their 
medical virtues and powers to prolong life, fortify the animal 
spirits, strengthen the memory, and, in fine, to cure all complaints. 
The discovery of this predilection was accidental. One of the 
chiefs, on his return home, had sent some curiosities to an inter- 
preter, his friend, and among the rest was a large twisted Green- 
land unicorn's horn, by the sale of which the interpreter became 
extremely rich, and a man of consequence. From that time the 
Dutch have imported so many, that the value is greatly reduced, 
nevertheless, when all smuggling was obliged to be laid aside, M. 
Thunberg sold as many as enabled him to pay the debts he had 
contracted, and to expend one thousand two hundred rix-doUars on 
his favorite science. 

Ninsi-root, called Som, by the Chinese, likewise sells very high. 
It grows in the northern parts of China, particularly in Corea. A 
bastard kind, brought from America, perhaps the Ginseng-root, is 
often brought hither by the Dutch ; but this is strictly prohibited 
by government, lest it should be fraudulently sold for the genuine 
sort. 

Both the Dutch company and individuals are prohibited from 
exporting from hence, Japanese coin, maps, charts, and books, at 
least sucli as are relative to the country ; and all sorts of arms, 
particularly their cimeters, which, in strength and goodnes of manu- 
facture, we have already observed are unrivaled. 

The weights of Japan are thus regulated — one pickel makes one 
hundred and twenty-five pounds, one catje sixteen thails, one thail 
ten mas, and one mas ten conderyns. 

The money current in trade is reckoned in a similar manner ; 
so that one thail, which answers nearly to a Dutch rix-dollar, 
is equal to ten mas ; and one mas to ten conderyns. Kambang 
money, as it is called, or the money of the country, is never paid 
in hard cash, as it cannot be exported ; but there is merely 
an assignment made on it, and bills are drawn for such a sum as 
will be requisite for a whole year's supply. Hence the com- 
merce here cannot be considered in any other light than barter ; 
at least the money received in the island must always be laid out 
again in it. 

Though the Chinese are the only Asiatic nation that trade to 
Japan, and they still employ a good number of ships, their privi- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 119 

leges are mucli curtailed, since they were imprudent enough to 
introduce into Japan Catholic books, pi'inted in China. They are 
now confined to a small island, like the Dutch, and strictly searched 
whenever they go in or out. 

Custom-houses are not known, either in the interior part of the 
country or on its coasts, and no customs are demanded, either on 
imports or exports, from strangers or natives — an exemption which 
few other countries possess. But no prohibited goods can be 
smuggled into the country, on account of the vigilance that is used 
to prevent it. All persons, as well as merchandises, are so strictly 
searched, that the hundred eyes of Argus may be said to be em- 
ployed on this occasion. 

When an European goes ashore, he is first examined on board, 
and then as soon as he lands — not in a superficial manner, but with, 
more strictness than even decency will sometimes warrant. His 
name is put down, and he receives a permit, from the intention of 
which he cannot deviate without extreme danger. Even the 
Japanese themselves, not high in office, are examined minutely, 
when they go on board the ship. By this means, and the severe 
punishments which attend the detection of sinuggling, either in 
foreigners or natives, a contraband trade is almost impossible to be 
carried on. 

The interpreters are all natives of Japan, and speak with more 
or less accuracy the Dutch language. They are generally divided 
into three classes, according to the perfection with which they 
can acquit themselves in this vocation. The superior class is 
composed of doctors, the second of assistants, and the third of 
apprentices ; or, rather, ranks and gradations, answering to those 
titles. 

The interpreters are extremely fond of European books, and 
yearly increase their stock by the favor of the merchants. They 
are also very inquisitive into European customs and sciences, and 
are the only persons who practice medicine on any just principles. 
Several clerks always accompany them, as well to the ships as to 
their college, in the Island of Dezima, who perform the most 
tiresome part of their business, in keeping accounts and writing 
permits. 

As the intercourse of the Japanese with foreigners is extremely 
limited, the greatest part of their commerce must be amongst 
themselves. 

Their inland trade is very flourishing, and in every respect free 
and uncontrolled. The harbors are covered with coasting-vessels 



120 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

and boats, and the higli roads are crowded witli travelers, transport- 
ing their wares from one place to another. 

Though merchants frequently accumulate great wealth, their 
profession is never reckoned honorable ; nor can they purchase 
titles, or raise themselves to a higher rank. On the contrary, 
they are always despised, and the public at large entertain the 
most contemptible opinion of them, under the impression that 
their wealth has been procured at the expense of their fellow- 
'citizens. 



EMPIRE OF JAPAN 



[From Goodrich's Pictorial Geography.] 



This Empire consists of several islands in the Pacific Ocean, 
lying between latitude 29° and 47° north, and longitude 128° and 
150° east, and separated from the Continent by the Sea of Japan 
and the Channel of Tartary. It has an area of 240,000 square 
miles, and a population of 26,000,000 souls. The principal islands 
of the group are Niphon, Sikoko, Kiusiu, and Yesso, or Matsmai. 
The southern part of Seghalien belongs to Japan, and the northern 
to China. Some of the Kurile Islands also belong to the former. 
The lofty mountains which intersect the principal islands, and the 
exposure to the sea-breezes, render the climate cool. Earthquakes 
are common. 



PRODUCTIONS. 



Rice, hemp, and silk, and the various tropical fruits are pro- 
duced in abundance in the southern parts. The milky juice of 
the varnish-trees supplies the beautiful lacquer, or japan. The 
tea-tree and bamboo are indigenous. Agriculture is carried to 
great perfection ; and as there are few cattle or sheep, there are 
no meadows ; and fences are not necessary. The corn fields, cot- 
ton plantations, rice grounds, and mulberry orchards, are oftea 
very extensive. 



Yedo, [Jeddo], the Capital, upon the Island of Niphon, is one 
of the largest and most populous cities in the world, having a cir. 
cuit of 53 miles, and a population of 1,300,000 souls. The por' 



122 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

is shalloAV, and accessible only to small vessels. The houses are 
constructed of bamboo, covered with mortar, and are two stories 
high. Paper supplies the place of glass, and the floors are covered 
with matting. The palace of the Emperor is nearly 15 miles in 
cu-cumference, and is strongly fortified. The citadel, or inner fort, 
is inhabited by the imperial family, and the outer fortress by the 
nobility. The " hall of a hundred mats" is 600 feet long and 300 
wide, with the doors and cornices finely lacquered, and the locks 
and hinges richly gilded. 

Kio, or Meaco, was for a long time the Capital, and contains 
the most remarkable edifices. It is also the residence of the Dairi, 
or descendent of the ancient Emperors, who is the spiritual head 
of the empire. The Dairi's palace is, in itself, a town surrounded 
with walls and ditches ; the imperial palace is also a large building. 
The Temple of Fokosi, paved with squares of white marble, and 
adorned with 96 columns of cedar, is about 1000 feet in length, 
and contains a colossal statue of Buddha, S3 feet in height. The 
Temple of Kwansoon is little inferior to the preceding ; in the 
midst sits the goddess with thirty-three hands, surrounded by 
crowds of subordinate deities ; and innumerable statues of all sizes, 
and richly gilt, are placed around on shelves — the Japanese say 
there are 33,333. The population is stated to amount to 500,000. 
Meaco is the centre of Japanese commerce and manufactures. 
Silks, tissue, soy and lacquered wares, are purchased here in their 
greatest perfection, and all the money of the empire is coined, 
and most of the books are printed here. 

JYangasaJd, on the Island of Kiusiu, is the only port in which 
foreign vessels are suffered to come to anchor. 



GOVERNMENT. 

The Kubo, or Jogun, (commander-in-chief), is the real sove- 
reign, and his power is absolute. The government is a hereditary 
monai-chy, sustained by a great number of Damios, (hereditary 
princes), who are themselves kept in subjection by their mutual 
jealousies, and by being obliged to give hostages. Many of them 
are even required to leave their families in the Capital, and to 
reside there themselves half the year. The Dairi retains the title 
of Emperor, and the appearances of authority, but he is confined 
in the palace at Meaco, which he never quits, except on a visit to 
some of the principal temples. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 123 

MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE. 

Tlie Japanese excel in woi'king in copper, iron and steel. Their 
silk and cotton goods, porcelain, paper of the bark of the mulberry, 
lacquered ware, (thence called japanned) ^ and glass, are also made 
in great perfection. Their foreign commerce is inconsiderable. 
The Japanese are forbidden to go out of the country ; and the 
port of Nangasaki is open only to the Chinese, Coreans and Dutch, 
and even to them, under great restrictions. The inland and coast- 
ing trade is, however, extensive. The ports are crowded with ves- 
sels, and the fairs thronged with merchants. 



There are three forms of religion prevalent in Japan. The re- 
ligion of Sinto is founded upon the worship of G-enii, or subordi- 
nate gods, from whom the Dairi is supposed to be descended. The 
Grenii, or Kami, are the souls of the virtuous, who have ascended 
to heaven ; in their honor are erected temples, in which are placed 
the symbols of the deity, consisting of strips of paper, attached to 
a piece of wood. These symbols are also kept in the houses ; and 
before these are offered the daily prayers to the Kamis. The do- 
mestic chapels are also adorned with flowers and green branches ; 
and two lamps, a cup of tea, another of wine, are placed before 
them. Some animals are also venerated as sacred to the Kamis. 
The sacrifices offered at certain seasons, consist of rice, cakes, 
eggs, &c. Buddhism was introduced into Japan from Corea, and 
in many cases is so far mingled with the religion of Sinto, that the 
same temples serve for both, and accommodate the images of the 
Kamis, together with those of Buddhist gods. The priests of 
Budda, in Japan, are called Bonzes, and they are numerous, com- 
prising both males and females. They are under a vow of celibacy ; 
and there are here as in other Buddhist countries, large convents 
for both sexes. The doctrine of Confucius has also been brought 
into the country, and has many followers 

INHABITANTS. 

The Japanese have a brown complexion, black hair, and the 
oblique eye, which characterizes the Chinese. They are middle- 
sized, well-formed, and active, and in character intelligent, cour- 
teous, industrious and honest, but suspicious and vindictive. They 



y 



124 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

are more cleanly than the Chinese, and more ready to adopt the 
improvements of other nations. Women hold a higher rank than 
in China. They are educated with the same care as men, and 
enjoy the same degree of liberty as in Em'opean countries. Most 
of the arts and sciences have been borrowed from the Chinese, and 
in many respects the Japanese are still much behind that indus- 
trious people. 

The Japanese are a religious people, and their religion deals 
much in festivals, of which they have five great annual ones, be- 
sides three smaller monthly ones, celebrated rather with noisy 
mirth and revels, than with religious observances. Pilgrimage is 
the custom to which they are most strongly addicted, and which 
they practice with the greatest zeal. " The roads in summer are 
thronged with crowds of devotees on their way to some sacred spot. 
Isje, the grand temple of the chief of the celestial spirits, is the 
most holy of those venerated shrines. 

Christianity was introduced in 1549, and extirpated in 1638. 
No form of Christianity is now tolerated. Marriage is performed 
iu the temples. The bride lights a torch at the altar, and the 
bridegroom another at hers, which constitutes the ceremony. The 
funeral observances are similar to the Chinese. 

The buildings in Japan are of excessively slight materials, and 
the walls are of clay. The interior is divided into partitions with 
paste-board, and the walls are covered with paper, which with the 
rich is elegantly painted and varnished. As the natives sit on the 
floor, there is no occasion for the furniture which decorates our 
apartments. Pomp is chiefly displayed in the number and beauty 
of the mats with which the floor is spread, and the imperial hall is 
called the "hall of the thousand mats." Fires are frequent, and 
of course very destructive in the cities. The food of the Japanese 
is simple, and not only animal food, but even milk and anything 
made of it, is avoided. Rice is the great article of food, and tea 
and sacki, or rice-beer, are universally consumed. The dress is 
plain ; it consists merely of a large loose robe, resembling a bed- 
gown, made of silk or cotton, and varying with the different ranks 
only in fineness. Straw shoes, which are put off at the door, are 
worn ; the head, which is shaved, is generally left uncovered, ex- 
cept on journeys, when it is covered with a huge cap of straw or 
oiled paper. The Japanese are great travelers ; and this is partly 
owing to their frequent pilgrimages, and partly to their great in- 
land trade. The princes also make their annual tours with large 
retinues. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 125 



MIAKO, 

S THE ECCLESIASTICAL CAPITAL OF JAPAN. 



[From M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary.] 



Miako^ [Meaco], a large city, and the ecclesiastical capital of 
the Japanese Empire, in the Island of Niphon, on the Yedogawa, 
230 miles west-by-south from Yedo, [Jeddo] ; latitude 35° 24' 
north, longitude 153° 30' east. Population, (according to the Dutch 
traders, on whom, however, little reliance can be placed), 600,000, 
exclusive of the Ddiri^ or Mikado's court, supposed somewhat to 
exceed 50,000. It is situated in a spacious plain, inclosed on all 
sides by high mountains, and almost entirely formed into fine gar- 
dens, interspersed with temples, monasteries, and palaces. It ia 
nearly four miles in length, and about three miles broad, with nar- 
row but regular streets, lined by houses two stories high, built of 
wood, lime and clay ; most of them being very slightly and poorly 
constructed. The sacred Mikado^ or Supreme Emperor, emphati- 
cally " the Son of Heaven," has his residence on the north side of 
the city, in a quarter comprising about a dozen streets, and separated 
from the rest of the buildings by walls and ditches ; but owing 
to the great diminution of the revenues, furnished by the Sjogun, 
or Viceroy, (the substantial sovereign), the whole is reported to have 
a very shabby and dilapidated appearance — little in accordance 
with the rank of a being more divine than human ! On the west 
part of the town is another palace, built of stone, and strongly for- 
tified ; it belongs to the Sjogun, who resides in it when he comes 
to pay his respects to the Emperor. This practice, however, has 
long been discontinued, and the building is now used for the ac- 
commodation of certain functionaries, sent thither from Yedo, 
to watch the proceedings of the Ddiri. The members of this court, 
who view themselves as a species of superior beings to the rest of 
the Japanese, are chiefly engaged in the study of literature and 
science ; the Ddiri being in fact, the highest college in Japan for 
the cultivation of theology, and various other branches of learning. 
The almanacs, formerly imported from China, are now constructed, 
including the calculation of Eclipses, in the Ddiri college ; and at 
least three-fourths of all the works published in Japan, are pro- 
duced by the literati of Miako, some of whom, however, are con- 



126 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

nected ■with other colleges and high schools, wholly independent 
of the Dairi. 

This city is likewise the principal manufactm-ing depot of the 
empire ; every kind of handicraft known in Japan being carried 
to the greatest perfection. Nearly every house has its attached 
shop, well provided with every description of goods, and the japan- 
ned wares, carved ornaments, &c., of Miako, are unequaled either 
in Japan or China. Miako is one of the places visited by the Dutch 
traders, when they, once in four years, pay their respects to the 
Sjogun at Yedo. They usually spend some days here, which are 
chiefly occupied in making purchases of Japanese manufactures. 
Tarious celebrated temples (of which there are many though not 
described,) are freely exhibited to them ; and in the gardens at- 
tached to one of these buildings, tents are pitched for the purpose, 
not only of giving a sumptuous entertainment to the Captain Ho- 
lauda, (as they term the Dutch president of the mission), but also 
of gratifying the curiosity of the natives with a sight of a few 
strangers, from a distant land. — (For further particulars, see " Ja- 
'pan^'''' also " Manners and Customs of the Japanese^'''' p. 140-157, 
Sichold, i. and ii. ) 

NANGASAKI. 

JVavgasali, a large town, and sea-port of Japan, on the south- 
west side the Island of Kiu-siu, and the only place in that empire 
accessible to Europeans, 600 miles west-south-west from Yedo ; 
latitude 32° 43 north, longitude 130° 1 1 47" east. Population from 
60,000 to 70,000. It is situated on the slope of a hill, and like 
every other Japanese town, is regularly built, with wide and clean 
streets. The houses, however, are low, none containing more than 
one good story, to which is added, in some, a sort of cockloft, in 
others, a low cellar ; all are constructed of wood and a mixture of 
clay and chopped straw, but the walls are coated with a cement 
that gives them the appearance of stone. The height of the street- 
front, and even the number of the windows are determined by 
sumptuary laws. Oiled paper supplies the place of glass, and the 
windows are further protected from the weather by external wooden 
shutters and Venetian blinds. A Verandah, into which the diiferent 
rooms open, runs round the outside of the houses, to which are in- 
variably attached curiously laid-out gardens. Large detached fire- 
proof store-rooius belong to each dwelling, and are so constructed 
as fully to answer theii" purpose of preserving the valuables 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 127 

of tlie inliabitants from the conflagrations so common here and 
elsewhere in Japan. The chief public buildings are the palaces 
of the Governor and Grandees of the empire, some of which cover 
a considerable extent of ground. There are also in the town and 
neighborhood 61 temples, or yasiros^ usually on commanding emi- 
nences, and inclosed in large gardens — the habitual resort of plea- 
sure parties. These buildings are as plain and little ornamented 
as the private dwellings, and comprise also, apartments, which are 
let out to travelers, or used fgr banqueting rooms, and other pur- 
poses. The tea-houses, or bagnios, are another favorite resort of 
the natives, and of these, according to Siebold, there are 750 in 
Nangasaki. The artificial Island of Dezima, to which the Dutch 
merchants are rigorously confined, is about 600 feet in length by 
240 feet in breadth ; a few yards from the shore, close to which 
stands the town, connected with it by a stone bridge, closed by 
a gate and guardhouse, constantly occupied by soldiery. Neither 
Dutch nor Japanese may pass the gate without being searched. 
The number of European residents is limited to eleven^ and the 
menial service is performed exclusively by Japanese, all of whom, 
except courtesans, are compelled to leave the island at sunset. 
From this imprisonment the Dutch are allowed to escape twice or 
thrice a year, rather to be exhibited to the great as a curiosity 
than out of indulgence. A corps of constables and interpreters 
(the latter of whom form a regular guild, receiving salaries from the 
Sjogun,) are appointed to watch over their minutest actions, and 
the most degrading servilities are exacted even from the opperhoofd^ 
or president of the mission, by the meanest ofl&cers of the Japanese 
government. As respects trade, the Dutch are placed under re- 
strictions elsewhere unparalleled ; but these and other particulars 
have already been detailed in the general article " Japan," to 
which the reader is referred. The harbor of Nangasaki extends 
north-east and south-west, about seven miles, being in most places 
less than a mile in width. Ships lie in five or six fathoms water, 
within gun-shot of the town, and protected from all winds. — {Sie- 
hold, i. ch. 1 . 2. ; " Crawfibrd''s Hist, of the Indian Ardii'pdago^'* 
iii. 305-308 ; '•'• Manntrs and Customs of the Jajpanese^ " 24-57.) 



128 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 



THE KURILE ISLANDS. 



■Kurile Islands, a chain of small islands connecting the peninsula 
of Kamtscliatka with the large islands forming the Empire of Japan. 
They are chiefly dependent on Russia ; but the three farthest 
south belong to Japan. They extend between latitude 43° 40' 
and 51*^ north, and longitude 143° 50' and 156° 20' east, and oc- 
cupy a length of more than 700 miles. Population imknown, but 
very small. The surface is very irregula — rsome of the heights 
rising nearly 6000 feet above the ocean, while in other parts deep 
and narrow valleys are almost on a level with the' sea. Volcanic 
eruptions and earthquakes are of common occurrence ; and the ge- 
ological constituents of the islands, examined by Lutke and others, 
being wholly of igneous origin, indubitably show their connection 
with the great volcanic band passing south-south-west from Kamt- 
schatka to the Island of Formosa, through more than 30 degrees 
of latitude. The shores are abrupt and difficult of approach ; the 
coast-currents are very violent, especially On the east, or ocean 
side ; and continual fogs hovering over the islands, render access 
extremely difficult. The animals and plants differ little from 
those found in Kamtschatka, and the minerals consist chiefly of 
iron, copper, and sulphur. The inhabitants mostly engage in 
hunting and fishing — the former supplying them not only with 
meat, but also with furs, which serve as money for the Russian 
Americans, Japanese and Dutch, while the latter furnishes oil, 
whalebone and spermaceti. Agriculture is confined to the islands 
belonging to Japan. The inhabitants of the north islands resem- 
ble the Kamtschatdales in honesty, openness of character, hospi- 
tality and shyness to strangers. Those in the south islands are 
Ainos, a race similar to the Japanese. These islands were dis- 
covered between 1713 and 1720;. but it must be acknowledged 
that they are very little known, even after the lapse of more than 
a century, and the labors of Broughton, Krusentern, and other 
travelers. — {^'- Littke?s FoT/ao-e^," tome iii. ; Did. Geog.) 

ISLAND OF FORMOSA. I 

Formosa., (Chin. Tae-tva7i, or " Terrace Bay"), an Island in the 
Chinese Sea, belonging partially to China, between latitude 22° 
and 25° 30' north, and longitude 120'=' 30' and 122° east ; about 
80 miles from the Chinese coast, from which it is separated by the 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 129 

Channel of Fo-kien, and 170 miles north from Luzon, the chief 
of the Phillippine Islands. Length, north to south, about 250 
miles; breadth in its centre, about 80 miles; area 15,000 square 
miles. Population uncertain, but perhaps between 2,000,000 and 
3,000,000. — {Canton Register, 1833.) 

A chain of mountains runs through the island in its entire length, 
forming in general, the barrier between the Chinese on the west 
and the independent natives of the unexplored country on the east 
side. On many of its summits, snow remains during the most 
part of the summer, and Humboldt has supposed that a portion of 
it reaches an absolute elevation of upwards of 12,000 feet. It ex- 
hibits distinct evidence of former volcanic action in some extinct 
craters; in other parts flames, mephitic gases, &c., burst out of 
the earth ; and sulphur, naptha and other volcanic products are 
abundant. Some parts of the coast present bold head-lands, but 
all the west shore is flat, and surrounded with quicksands. Its 
harbors, which were formerly very good, have become nearly use- 
less, except to junks of very small tonnage, from the rapid increase 
of the land on the sea, so that at present Formosa has but one 
good port, that of Kelung, at its north extremity. 

" That portion of Formosa which is possessed by the Chinese, 
well deserves its name ; the air is wholesome, and the soil very 
fruitful. The numerous rivulets from the mountains fertilize the 
extensive plains which spread below ; but throughout the island 
the water is unwholesome, and to unacclimated strangers, often 
very injurious. All the large plain of the south resembles a 
vast well-cultivated gai-den. Almost all grains and fruits may be 
produced on one part of the island or another ; but rice, sugar, 
camphor, tobacco, &c., are the chief productions. 

" Formosa has long been familiarly known as the granary of the 
Chinese maritime provinces. If wars intervene, or violent storms 
prevent the shipment of rice to the coast, a scarcity immediately 
ensues, and extensive distress, with another sure result — multiplied 
piracies by the destitute Chinese. The quantity of rice exported 
from Formosa to Fuh-keen and Che-keang is very considerable, 
and employs more than 300 junks. Of sugar, there annually ar- 
rive at the single port of Teen-tsin (in China,) upwards of seventy 
laden junks. The exportation of camphor is likewise by no means 
small. Much of the camphor in the Canton market is supplied from 
Formosa." — ( Chinese Repository, ii. 419, 420.) Besides the forego- 
ing products ; wheat, maize, millet, kitchen vegetables of many kinds, 
truffles, &c. ; colocasia^ a kind of arum, the root of which is a chief 



130- JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE, 

article of food in tlie interior ; oranges, bananas, cocoa and areca 
nuts, peaches, figs, melons, and numerous other European and 
Asiatic fruits are cultivated. Chesnut woods are plentiful ; and in 
the north especially a good deal of timber for ship-building is ob- 
tained. Pepper, aloes, coffee, a kind of green tea, but different 
from the Chinese, cotton, hemp and silk, are other important 
articles of culture. The ox and buffalo are used for tillage and 
draught ; horses, asses, sheep, goats and hogs are abundant. The 
leopard, tiger, wolf, &c., inhabit the island, but do not infest its 
cultivated portion ; pbeasants, hares, and other kinds of game are 
very numerous. Gold is supposed to be found in the east part of 
Formosa, as it is seen in the hands of the inhabitants ; but the 
minerals are salt and sulphur, of which latter a good deal has been 
sent to China since 1819 for the manufacture of gunpowder. 

The Chinese colonists of the island are mostly from the opposite 
province of Fo-kien, and have emigrated principally from poverty. 
They are a laborious and industrious race, well-disposed toward 
foreigners, but very turbulent in respect to the home authorities, 
who maintain only a very precarious sway over them — the Formo- 
sans having frequently risen in open rebellion against their mother 
country. The greater part of them are cultivators of the soil ; but 
man^ of the Amoy men (from which district a great number of 
the emigrants have come,) are merchants, fishermen, and sailors. 
The trade with China is very extensive. The chief exports to 
that country have been mentioned. The principal imports thence 
are tea, silk and woolen, and other kinds of manufactured goods. 
The trade is mostly in the hands of the Fo-kien merchants, who 
have also advanced* the chief part of the capital necessary for the 
cultivation of the soil. As many as 100 junks a month are esti- 
mated to leave Fo-kien for the west coast of Formosa, where, how- 
ever, they are obliged to lie at a great distance from the shore, 
while carts with wheels, destitute of spokes, drawn by buffaloes, 
are used to carry the cargoes to them through the water. There 
are no junks strictly belonging to the island ; all the shipping is 
the property of the Amoy merchants. — {Gutzlaff.) 

The native inhabitants of the east of Formosa bear no resem- 
blance to the Chinese ; but they have apparently an alliance with 
the Malay or Polynesian tribes. " They are of a slender shape, 
olive complexion, wear long hair, are clad with a piece of cloth 
from the waist to the knees, blacken the teeth, and wear ear-rings 
and collars. In the south, those who are not .civilized live in cot- 
tages of bamboo and straw, raised on a kind of terrace three or 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 131 

four feet higli, Ijuilt like an inverted funnel, and from fifteen to 
forty feet in diameter. In these they have neither chair, table, 
bed, nor any movable article. They tattoo their skin. In the 
north they clothe themselves with deer-skins. They have no 
books or written language ; neither have they any king or common 
head, but petty chiefs and councils of elders, and distinguished 
men, much like the North American Indians. It does not ap- 
pear whether they have any separate priesthood, but it is probable 
that there is none beyond the conjurers and enchanters of all sav- 
age tribes, nor any ancient and fixed ceremonies of divine worship 
or system of superstition. They are represented by the Chinese 
as free from theft and deception among themselves, and just to- 
wards each other, but excessively revengeful when outraged." — 
{Chinese Repository^ ii. 419). The Chinese territory in Formosa 
having, for a lengthened period, been gradually extending, the 
really independent tribes have receded toward the east coast ; 
some of the others have become partially civilized, settled in vil- 
lages, and intermixed with the border Chinese. 

Formosa, together with the Pang-hoo Islands, composes a/oo, or 
department, under the province of Fo-kien, and immediately sub- 
ject to its governor. It is divided into five heens^ or districts. 
The capital Tae-wan, is described as ranking among Chinese cities 
of the first class, in the variety and richness of its merchandize, 
and in population. It stands on the west coast, in about latitude 
23^^ north and longitude 120*^ 32 east, surrounded by a wall and 
ditch. Its pi'incipal streets are from thirty to forty feet broad, and 
for many months of the year are covered with awnings, to keep off 
the sun. On a small island opposite the city, the Dutch in 1634, 
built Fort Zealand, which commanded the harbor, the entrance 
to which is now choked up. The Chinese garrison in Tae-wan, 
amounts to about 10,000 men ; the total armed force usually sta- 
tioned in the island may be estimated at about double that num- 
ber — all infantry. The revenue derived by China, from Formosa, 
amounted in 1820 to 11,240 bushels of corn and 7341 oz. of sil- 
ver ; the public expenditure to 482 bushels of corn and 5000 oz. 
of silver. 

The Chinese appear not to have been acquainted with Formosa 
till about 1430, after which its coasts became the resort succes- 
sively of several Chinese pirates. The Japanese had planted colo- 
nies in the north, and at one period the greater part of the island 
belonged to them ; but the Dutch, having been allowed to settle on 
the west coast, gradually dislodged all their opponents, including 



132,. JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

the Spanish and Portuguese, (both of whom tried to gain a foot- 
ing), and became sole masters of the island about 1632. After 
the conquest of China by the Tartars, in 1644, a Chinese chief, 
with an army of Chinese refugees, determined to conquer Formosa, 
and finally expelled the Dutch from it in 1662. In 168??, how- 
ever, the new dynasty was overthrown by the continental Chinese, 
aided by the Dutch ; and the authority of China has been ever 
since maintained over the island, though assailed by repeated in- 
surrections. — [Riller^ Asien Erdlninde^ iii. 858-881; Klap-oth ; 
La Perous'e ; Gutzlnff ; Chinese Repository, &c). 



ISLx\ND OF COREA. 

Cored, (called by the natives Chaon-See.n, by the Chinese 
Keaou-k, and by the Manchoo Tartars, Sol-ko), a maritime 
country of North East Asia, tributary to China, consisting of a 
large oblong-shaped peninsula, with an adjoining portion of the 
continent, and a vast number of islands, which are especially nu- 
merous on the west coast. The whole of the dominions lie be- 
tween latitude 33° and 43° north, and longitude 123° 50' and 
129° 30' east ; having east the Sea of Japan, south the Straits of 
Corea, west the Yellow Sea, and Gulf of Leao-tong, north-west the 
province of Leao-tong, and north Manchoo Tartary. From the 
latter it is separated by a mountain chain, and the Thu-men-kiang 
river, and from Leao-tong, mostly by a wooden wall or palisade. 
Length, north-west to south-east, 550 miles ; average breadth of the. 
peninsula, about 130 miles. Total area, inclusive of islands, pro- 
bably about 80,000 square miles. Corea is generally mountainous. 
A mountain range runs through it longitudinally, much nearer its 
east than its west coast. The east declivity of this range is steep 
and rugged •, its west one declines gradually into a fertile and well- 
watered country. All the principal rivers run west and discharge 
themselves into the Yellow Sea ; the chief is the Ya-lu-kiang, in the 
north-west, which is navigable for large ships to about 22 miles, 
and for small vessels for a distance of nearly 120 miles above its 
mouth. The coast, as well of the islands as of the continent, are 
generally rocky, and diflBcult of access, though there are some spa- 
cious and secure harbors. The climate of the north is very rigo- 
rous. The Thu-men-kiang, for six months in the year, is thickly 
frozen over, and barley is the only kind of corn capable of being 
cultivated in that region — even the south, though in the same lati- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 133 

tude with Sicily and Malta, is said to experience sometimes very 
heavy falls of snow. The climate of this part of Corea, however, 
must be on the whole mild, since cotton, rice and hemp are staple 
products; and GutzlaQ" conjectures (Voyages, &c., p. 319,) that 
many other plants, common to the south of Europe, flourish. Gutz- 
laff observes — " In point of vegetation, the coast of Corea is far su- 
perior to that of China, where barren rocks often preclude any at- 
tempt at cultivation ; but here, where the land is fertile, the inhab- 
itants do not plough the ground," (p. 337). Agriculture may be 
better farther inland, but on the coast it is much neglected. Wheat, 
millet, and ginseng, are among the chief articles cultivated. To- 
bacco was introduced by the Japanese about the beginning of the 
17th century, and potatoes, by Gutzlaff and Lindsay, in 1832. The 
orange, citron, hazel-nut, pear, chesnut, peach, mulberry, morus 
fcipyrifei'a^ Fucus sacc/iannus, and the wild grape, are common ; but 
the art of making wine from the latter seems to be unknown — an 
ardent liquor is, however, made from rice. The mountainous parts 
of the north are covered with extensive forests. Pines are very 
abundant on the coasts ; and in the interior there is a species of 
palm producing a valuable gum, from which a varnish, giving an 
appearance little inferior to gilding, is made. Oxen, hogs, and 
other domestic animals, common to Europe, are reared : There is 
a spirited breed of dwarf horses not exceeding three feet in height ; 
panthers, bears, wild boars, cats and dogs, sables, (whose skin form 
an important article of tribute), deer, and an abundance of game, 
storks and waterfowl of many sorts, are found ; caymans of 30 or 
40 feet in length, are said to be met with in the rivers, and veno- 
mous serpents are not rare. In the winter, whales, seals, &e., 
visit the shores. The mineral kingdom produces gold, silver, iron, 
rock-salt and coal. 

People, &c. — The population has been estimated at 15,000,000 , 
but there are no real grounds for this estimate, which we have 
little doubt, is greatly beyond the mark. Grutzlaff represents the 
coasts as thinly inhabited. We have elsewhere stated that the 
Coreans are superior in strength and stature to the Chinese and 
Japanese, but that they are inferior to either in mental energy and 
capacity, (Anti., p. 182). They are gross in their habits, eat vo- 
raciously, and drink to excess. The dress of both men and women 
is very similar to that of the Chinese, though the Coreans do not, 
like that people, cut off their hair. Their houses are also like those 
of China, being built of bricks in the towns, and in the country are 
mere mud hovels ; each hou§e is surrounded by a wooden stockade. 



134 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

Their language or languages are peculiar, differing from those of 
their immediate neighbors. In writing they use alphabetic cha- 
racters, though the symbolic characters of the Chinese are also 
understood and sometimes resorted to. They have a copious lite- 
rature, and are very fond of reading, as well as of music, dancing 
and festivities. Polygamy is permitted ; but the women do not 
appear to be under such restraint as in China. — (McLeod). The 
religion of the upper ordei's is that of Confucius, while the mass 
of the people are attached to Buddhism ; but neither appears to 
have much influence. Christianity which was introduced by the 
Japanese, appeared to be extinct when Grutzlaff visited Corea in 
1832. 

Manufactures, Trades, &c. — The manufactures are few — 
the principal are a kind of grass cloth, straw plait, horse-hair caps, 
and other articles for domestic use ; a very fine and transparent 
fabric woven from filaments of the urtka japonica, cotton cloth, and 
a very strong kind of paper, made of cotton, rice paper, &c.; 
which articles, together with ginseng, skins, some metals, horses, 
and silk, constitute the chief exports. What trade there is, is 
principally with Japan, from which they import pepper, aromatic 
Avoods, alum, buffalo, goat and buck's horns, and Dutch and Ja- 
panese manufactured goods. There is, however, some trade with 
China, carried on at Fung-wang-Ching, (the Phxniz-town)^ be- 
yond the Leao-tong border ; but this trade is conducted with great 
secrecy, in consequence of the jealousy of the government of any 
intercourse with foreigners. This jealousy is so great, that no 
Chinese is allowed to settle in Corea, or any Corean to leave his 
own country ; Europeans are scarcely ever suffered to land or re- 
main any length of time on the coast ; and the north frontier is 
abandoned for many miles, in order that no communication should 
take place with the Jlanchoo Tartars. Little skill in ship-building 
is displayed by the Coreans ; their junks do not carry more than 
200 tons, and are quite unmanageable in a heavy sea. In the 
construction of their fishing boats, not a nail is used. Metallic ar- 
ticles and money are rare. The only coin in circulation is of cop- 
per ; but payment is often made in silver ingots. 

Corea is divided into eight provinces. Kiug-hi-tao, the capital, 
is placed on the Kiaug river, in about 3~^ 40 north latitude, and 
127*^ 20' east longitude, or about the centre of the kingdom. The 
government is said to be despotical. Most of the landed property 
in the country belongs to the king, of whom it is held in different 
portions as fiefs, which revert to the sovereign at the decease of 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 135 

the occupier. Besides the revenues from these domains, a tenth, 
part of all kinds of produce belongs to the king. Justice is in 
many respects very rigid. Rebellion, as in China, is punished by 
the destruction of the rebel, with his entire family, and the confis- 
cation of their property. None but the king may order the death 
of an official person. The master has always power over the life 
of his slave. For minor crimes the general punishment is in the 
bastinado, which is pretty constantly at work. The Chinese inter- 
fere but little with the internal administration of Corea ; but the 
king can neither assume the government, nor choose his successor 
or colleague, without the authority of the Court of Pekin, to which 
he sends tribute four times a year ; the tribute consists of ginseng- 
root, Sable skins, white cotton, paper, silk, horses, silver ingots, 
&c. The Corean ambassador is treated at Pekin with but little 
consideration. There seems reason to believe, that, like some 
other states in Asia, Corea is tributary to the more powerful na- 
tions on either side, and that it also sends a yearly tribute to Ja- 
pan, consisting of ginseng, leopards, &c., skins, silks, white cotton 
fabrics, horses, &c.; but for which an acknowledgment is made in 
gold articles, fans, tea, presents of silver to the ambassadors; &c. 

History. — Corea was known to the Chinese from a very early 
period, and is reported to have been civilized by the Chinese sove- 
reign Khil-su, about 1 120 years before our era. After experiencing 
several revolutions, it was invaded and conquered by the Japanese 
in 1692, who, however, abandoned their conquest in 1698 — the 
Coreans having called in the aid of China during that struggle. 
Corea has since formed a subordinate part of the Chinese Empire. 
— RiUer''s Asien Erdliunde, iii. 573—647; Du Halde ; Klafroth ; 
Timkowslii ; Giotzlaff''s Three Voyages ^ &c. ; Lindsay; McLeod ; 
&c. ; 3IaUe Brun.) 



THE JaxANE&i:. empire. 



[From Memoirs of a Captivity in Japan, by Captain Golownin, of the Russian 

Navy.] 



PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY TRADE AND COMMERCE. 

Agriculture — Manufactures — Fisheries — Making of Salt — Natural Pro- 
ducts : Cotton, Silk, Copper, Iron, Timber, Tea, Tobacco, Horses, Cattle, 
Hemp, Lead, Tin, &c. ; Pearls, Marbles, Fruits, Vegetables, &c. — 
Domestic Animals — Poultry — Wild Animals — Birds — Fish, &c. — State 
of the Fine Arts — Foreign Trade — Custom Houses — Smuggling Regula- 
tions — Coins — Paper Currency — Trade with the Chinese and Dutch. 

Though the Japanese possessions extend through only a few 
degrees of latitude, the climate of the country is uncommonly di- 
versified. The cause of this is to be attributed to the situation of 
the country. This diversity of the climate causes a great variety 
in the productions of the soil. The principalities of Tzyngaru, 
Nambu, and the Island of Matsmai, with other northern posses- 
sions, where the ground is covered with snow about five months 
together, produce many plants that belong to the frigid zone ; and 
in the southern possessions of Japan, the fruits of the tropical 
climates are found to flourish. 

As I had no opportunity to visit the principal islands belonging 
to Japan, I cannot speak of their productions as an eye-witness, 
but only repeat what I have heard from the Japanese, and describe 
what I could infer from their way of life, and what I saw of the 
articles imported into the Island of Matsmai. 

I have already mentioned the causes why the reader cannot ex- 
pect from me any complete description of the Japanese empire ; 
etill less can I satisfy the curiosity of a naturalist, who might wish, 
perhaps, that I should describe every shell found in Japan. Be- 
sides the want of opportunities to examine things myself, I did noc 
possess the requisite knowledge to observe with the eye of a natu- 
ralist. The reader will, therefore, not take it amiss if I make my 
short remarks on the productions of Japan, not according to classes, 



138 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

or a systematic arrangement, for instance, according to the king- 
doms of nature, but enumerate them in succession, according to the 
greater or smaller advantage which the inhabitants derive from 
them. The chief and most useful productions of Japan are the 
following : — 

Rice, fish, radishes, salt, cotton, silk, copper, iron, timber, tea, 
tobacco, horses, oxen, hemp, and a tree which they call kadzy, 
gold and silver, lead, quicksilver, and sulphur. 

I doubt whether there is a book in which so many difi'erent things 
are brought under one head, and treated in such order ; however, 
this does not deter me, and I consider this order as not wholly un- 
natural. Rice is the chief production, and nearly the only thing 
the Japanese use for bread ; it is to them what rye is to us ; nay, 
it is even more important ; for there are many persons in Russia 
who eat no rye bread ; in Japan, on the contrary, every body, from 
the monarch to the beggar, lives on rice. Besides, in all Japan, 
they make of the straw, shoes, hats, floor-mats in the houses, mats 
for sacks and for packing up goods, a kind of writing paper, and 
many other things of less consequence, but useful for domestic pur- 
poses, such as baskets, brooms, &c. The Japanese also extract 
from rice a kind of brandy or wine, and the weak liquor called sagi. 

Fish are in Japan what meat is in Europe, and much more, 
because we eat many kinds of meat and also fish, whereas, in 
Japan, but few people eat meat, except the priests j and all, with- 
out exception, eat fish. Besides, they light their houses with fish 
oil, which is made in great quantities in the northern parts of 
Japan. Only the rich burn candles. 

The radish supplies the place of our cabbage, and is used in 
soup in various ways ; salted radish serves them also instead of salt, 
to all their food. Whole fields are sown with radishes ; they are 
so used to radish soup, that a scarcity of this plant would be very 
distressing to them. 

Salt is not only indispensable for their daily use, but serves also 
for the curing offish ; for their chief fisheries are on the coasts of 
the Kurile Islands and Sagaleen, whence many hundred ships an- 
nually bring them to ports of the kingdom of Japan. Two means 
are used to preserve fish, salting and drying ; but the large fish 
cannot be so dried as to remain long fit to eat in the warm 
climate. 

Silk and cotton, besides the uses to which they are generally ap- 
plied, supply also the place of our wool, hemp, flax, down, feathers, 
and furs ; for whatever is worn in Japan is made of these two ar-. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 139 

tides. They likewise make of cotton stuff traveling cloaks, cases 
for arms, and other things, and tobacco-pouches, which are var- 
nished in such a manner that they may be taken for leather. 

Copper and iron are as necessary in Japan as in Europe. Be- 
sides the ordinary uses to which we apply it, the Japanese cover the 
roofs of their houses, which they desire particularly to preserve 
with copper, and also cover the outward joints of the buildings 
with the same metal, that the rain-water may not penetrate. To- 
bacco-pipes are also made of it. A very large quantitjr of iron is 
used for nails ;for the Japanese houses consist of boards nailed, 
within and without, with iron nails, to upright pillars which are 
joined by cross-beams ; every little box, too, however inconsider- 
able, is fastened together with nails. 

In so populous a country as Japan, when the frequent and 
violent earthquakes render it dangerous to erect buildings of stone, 
timber may be reckoned among the chief necessaries of the 
people. 

Tea and tobacco, it should seem, might be easily dispensed with ; 
but custom and fashion often operate as strongly as nature ; next 
to food, tea and tobacco are above everything, necessary to the Ja- 
panese. He smokes his pipe continually, and sips tea with it. 
His little pipe is filled every five minutes, and after a few puffs laid 
down. Even during the night, the Japanese get up for a few 
minutes to smoke tobacco and drink a cup of tea, which serves to 
quench their thirst, instead of beer, water, and kumss. 

The Japanese do not use the flesh of horned cattle for food, be- 
cause they have an aversion to it ; but they keep some, as well as 
horses, to draw burdens. 

They manufacture of hemp the coarse cloth for workmen's 
dresses, and for the sails of their ships ; but they make their cables 
and ropes of the bark of the tree called kadzy, without using tar 
or any other resinous matter. Hence, their ropes are not com- 
parable, either for strength or durability, with those made of hemp ; 
but they are good enough for their limited voyages, in which they 
are not exposed to any great storm. Besides, the cheapness of the 
materials allows them to have new ropes more frequently. Of this 
bark they often make also thread, lamp-wicks, a kind of cheap 
cloth, writing-paper, and paper for Japanese pocket-handkerchiefs. 

Gold and silver, so far as they serve for magnificence and luxury, 
cannot, indeed, be reckoned among the necessaries of life ; but if 
we consider the advantage and the means which they afford as 
money, for the procuring of necessaries and the exchange of home 



140 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

productions, they must certainly be reckoned among tlie chief 
necessaries of an enlightened nation, and on this account I mention 
them here. 

Lead, tin, and quicksilver may also be reckoned as chief neces- 
saries, because they are required in the refining of gold and silver, 
and also in the manufacture of arms, which are used by every na- 
tion that values its independence. For the latter reason, brimstone 
comes under the same head. 

Eice grows in such great abundance in the middle part of the 
Island of Niphon, that the Japanese, notwithstanding the extraor- 
dinary population of the country, do not want to import it. It is 
true they receive rice from China, but only out of precaution, lest, 
in case of scarcity, the Chinese government should make a difiiculty 
to permit the exportation of it, and exclude it from the number of 
goods which form the usual articles of trade between the two king- 
doms. The northern provinces of Japan, viz. : the principalities 
of Nambu and Tzyngaru, are poor in rice, and receive it, for the 
most part, from other countries ; it is not cultivated in Matsmai, 
Sachalin, and the Kurile Islands, because it will not grow, on ac- 
count of the cold climate. We saw, indeed, pieces of land sown 
with rice in Matstuai, in a valley near Chakodade, but om' guards 
told us that it was only done for a trial. 

The Japanese boil out of rice a kind of thick gruel, and eat it 
at all their meals, instead of bread ; from the flour of rice they 
prepare cakes and divers kinds of pastry, which resembles our con- 
fectionary. But rice is not the only bread-corn of the Japanese ; 
they have also barley, with which they sometimes feed the horses, 
and make cakes and other things from the flour ; maize, which they 
use in food in various ways, and sometimes roast whole ears, and 
eat the grain ; many kinds of beans, which are a favorite dish of 
the Japanese ; they sometimes eat them merely boiled in water, 
sometimes in treacle or soy ; small beans are often boiled with 
thick rice, and pass for a great delicacy. The Japanese soy is also 
prepared of beans, and turned sour in casks. They say that three 
years are required for preparing the best soy. Sweet and common 
potatoes are also cultivated in Japan, but they want land to plant 
them. The Japanese sweet potatoes are quite diff"erent from those 
I saw in other parts of the world, as in Portugal, in the Island of 
Madeira, in the Brazils, &c., &c. They resemble, in size, our 
largest potatoes, only that they are a little longer, the skin dark 
red, the inside is white, the taste agreeable, and smells like the 
rose. They have also peas, but it is only a garden plant with 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 141 

them. la so confined and populous a state as Japan, and such a 
climate, no corn, except rice, can be in general use, because only 
rice can grow in so narrow a space, in such abundance, as to be 
sufiicient for so great a nation. 

I cannot exactly state what kinds of fish are caught in the 
southern and middle parts of the coast of Japan, and in the rivers 
of that kingdom ; but on the coasts of Matsmai, Kunaschier, 
Eetooroop, and Sagaleen, almost all kinds of fish are caught in 
great quantities, which they have in Kamschatka, and of which I 
shall speak in the description of the Japanese possessions in the 
Kurile Islands. There is no kind of sea-animal, except those 
which are poisonous, that the Japanese do not make use of; whales, 
sea-lions, all kinds of seals, sea-hogs, sea-bears, furnish them with 
palatable food. Hence, there is, in all the Japanese possessions, 
no coast where there are not fisheries, which employ a number of 
people. They catch fish on the coast in great nets, in the seas 
with lines. The Japanese do not, like the Europeans, venture to 
kill whales in the open sea, but catch them in creeks, and close to 
the coast, in very strong nets. The dead sea-animals which the 
waves have cast on shore serve them for food ; nay, even people 
of the highest class think such carrion a great delicacy. 

The Japanese radish is, in the form and taste, very different 
from ours ; it is thin, and extremely long, even to two arsheens in 
length. The taste of it is not very bitter, but sweetish, almost 
like our turnips. Whole fields are covered with it. A great part 
of the crop is salted, the other part is buried in the ground for win- 
ter, and boiled in soup. Not even the radish leaves remain unused ; 
they are boiled in soup, or salted, and eaten as salad. The fresh 
leaves also of this plant are warmed by the fire till they smoke, 
and then put in a packet of tobacco. This, say the Japanese, 
hinders the tobacco from drying up, and gives it an agree- 
able smell and taste. I really did convince myself of the former, 
but did not perceive the latter, perhaps because I am no great 
smoker. They manure the radish fields with night- soil ; this we 
ourselves saw at Matsmai. In some places they use the same ma- 
nure for rice. 

Salt, as I have before observed, is a grand article of con- 
sumption in Japan. The Japanese told las that they had rock-salt, 
but only in small quantities ; and as it is, besides, brought from the 
interior of the kingdom, and not easy of conveyance, very little of 
it is used. In general, they use sea-salt in almost all parts of the 
kingdom ; the preparation of which is facilitated by the extraor- 



142 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

dinary saltness of the sea-water near tlie tropics, and by tlie erapo- 
ratiou produced by the heat. The Japanese have, therefore, larcre 
pits on the coast, into which they let the sea-water, when the tide 
is up ; the evaporation leaves a thick sediment, from which they 
boil their salt. 

According to the description of the Japanese, their cotton must 
be of the same kind as I have seen in the English colonies in the 
West Indies ; that is, it grows on small trees, about the height of 
a man. They have, however, other kinds of cotton, but I was not 
able sufficiently to understand their descriptions. The country 
must produce an immense quantity, as almost all the inhabitants are 
clothed in it. The wadding which they make of it serves them in- 
stead of furs. They also line their mattresses, and their morning- 
gowns, which latter serve them as quilts. Of cotton they likewise 
make a kind of writing-paper. It is made also into wicks, of which 
an immense quantity must be used, as the Japanese always keep a 
light during the night. Rich people burn candles, as I have said 
before, and the poor, fish-oil. When foreign vessels enter their 
ports, or an officer of distinction arrives, the Japanese hang the 
whole town with cotton-stuff. In a word, there is perhaps no other 
country in which so great a quantity of cotton is used as in Japan ; 
for this reason, great care is taken to extend the cultivation of it. 
As an instance of the industry and activity of this original people, 
it may be mentioned that they import from the Kurile Islands, 
into the interior of Japan, herrings spoiled by keeping, to serve as 
manure for the cotton plants. They first boil the herrings in large 
iron kettles ; then put them in presses, and let all the liquid flow 
into the same kettles, from which they take the oil for their lamps. 
What remains of the herrings is spread upon mats, and laid in the 
sun to dry, till they corrupt, and are almost converted into ashes. 
They are then filled into sacks, and put on board the boats. The 
earth round each cotton-plant is manured with them, which causes 
the crop to be extremely abundant. 

Japan is also very rich in silk. We had the proofs before our 
eyes. Matsmai is reckoned to be one of the very poorest towns ; 
yet we constantly saw people of all ranks, especially women, in silk 
dresses. On festivals, even the common soldiers wore costly silk 
dresses. If we consider the great population of the Japanese em- 
pire, the quantity of silk must be very great, even if only rich 
people dressed themselves in it. It was not, indeed, difficult for 
the Japanese to cultivate this production to a great extent, as it 
requires only a good climate and industry ; the former is favor- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 143 

able, and tlie latter is possessed by the Japanese in a very high 
degree. 

Copper is also produced in Japan in great abundance. The in- 
habitants cover with it the roof's of some of their houses, the fore 
part of their ships, and the joints in the houses. They manufac- 
ture of this metal their kitchen utensils, tobacco-pipes, fire-shovels, 
&c. Before we were lodged in the house, and still lived in the 
prison, our furniture corresponded with the place of our abode, but 
the hearth was covered with copper, and the fire-shovel was of the 
same metal ; this shows that the Japanese do not set any great 
value upon it. The tea-kettles alone must cause an immense con- 
sumption of copper in this empire ; for all the Japanese, as I have 
said above, drink, when they are thirsty, something warm, whether 
it be tea or water. In every house, therefore, the tea-kettle stands 
constantly on the fire, which miist finally spoil it. The Japanese 
copper utensils are, however, of very good workmanship ; we often 
wondered at the durability of the tea-kettles which we made use 
of, for they stood over the fire for months together, without burn- 
ing through. It is well known that the Dutch, in their trade with 
Japan, derived their greatest advantage from the exportation of the 
Japanese copper, because it always contains a large portion of gold, 
which the Japanese wanted skill, or inclination, to extract from 
it. But they are now become wiser, and give the Dutch only pure 
copper. 

With respect to iron, the Japanese do not possess that metal in 
such abundance as copper, but they have sufiicient to supply their 
absolute waiits ; and if the government exchanged with the Dutch, 
copper for iron, this was not of necessity, but because iron is for 
many purposes preferable to copper. As the Japanese have a sui'- 
plus of the latter, both they and the Dutch profited by this ex- 
change. Th§y often told us, that the trade with the Dutch did 
not produce them the least advantage — only some medicines and 
political news, which the Dutch bring them from Europe, being of 
importance to them. If the Japanese had not iron sufficient for 
their absolute wants, they would certainly set more value on the 
trade with the Dutch. 

Timber. — The greater part of the Japanese provinces are with- 
out wood. The extraordinary population of the kingdom renders 
it necessary to cultivate every spot of ground, and therefore only 
the mountains, which cannot be cultivated, are covered with woods. 
The priucipality of Nambu, which lies on the north-east part of the 
Island of Niphon, being very mountainous, is rich in timber, with 



144 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

which it supplies all Japan, in exchange for provisions, of which it 
does not produce sufficient for the support of its inhabitants. On 
the mountains of the Islands of Matsmai, Kuriashier, Eetooroop, 
and Sagaleen, there are forests of all kinds of trees, which the Ja- 
panese also make use of. We saw there numbers of very fine 
beams ready to be exported. Notwithstanding this, the Japanese 
draw but little timber from these islands, because it is so difficult 
to convey it from the interior to the coasts, and they have not yet 
felt the necessity of surmounting these obstacles. If this should 
happen, the Japanese will soon open a road to mountains which 
other nations would consider as inaccessible. I doubt whether 
anything would be impossible for the zeal, activity and patience of 
this people. 

The Japanese wished to know the Russian name for some 
species of wood, and brought to us pieces and branches of wood, 
asking how they were all called in Russia. We made use of this 
opportunity, and asked where these trees grew. By this means 
we learned that several kinds of oaks, palms, (of which the Ja- 
panese make very good combs), bamboo, cypresses, cedars, yews, 
firs, and other kinds of trees, the names of which are unknown to 
us, grow in these islands. 

I have before mentioned that habit has rendered tea one of the 
first necessaries of life among the Japanese. Japan produces both 
green and black tea. The first is considered as the best, and, in 
fact, is so. The Japanese even prefer it to the Chinese green tea ; 
but, according to our taste, it does not merit thi^ preference. With 
respect to the black tea, it is very bad, and the Japanese drink it 
merely to quench their thirst, whereas they look upon the green 
tea as a delicacy, and treat their company with it. The Japanese 
officers, and also the governor, often sent us green tea as a present ; 
but then the interpreters and the guards assisted, with a good ap- 
petite, in emptying the tea-kettle. Tea grows in all the southern 
provinces of Japan ; the best green is produced in the principality 
of Kioto, in which Kio, the city or residence of the spiritual em- 
peror, is situated. In this province tea is cultivated with great 
care, both for his court and that of the temporal emperor. 

Tobacco is an article which is equally indispensable to the Ja- 
panese. The Catholic missionaries were the first who introduced 
this plant, and taught them its use. From them, too, the Japanese 
received its name, and still call it tabaco or tabago. It is astonish- 
ing how the use of this worthless herb should have spread, in so 
short a time, over the whole earth, as it is entirely without taste.. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 145 

witliout any agreeable smell, without use to the health, and a mere 
amusement for idle people ! Our interpreter, Teske, one of the 
most sensible of our Japanese acquaintance, was himself a great 
smoker, but often said that the Christian priests had not done the 
Japanese so much injury by the introduction of their faith, which 
only produced among them internal commotions and civil wars, as 
by the introduction of tobacco ; for the former was only a transi- 
tory, long-forgotten evil, but the latter diverted, and probably , 
would do for centuries to come, large tracts of land and a number 
of hands from the production of useful and necessary articles, 
which are now dear, but might otherwise be cheaper. Besides, the 
workmen could not then so often interrupt their labor, but now 
they were continually resting themselves in order to smoke their 
pipes. 

I do not know how many species of this plant there are in 
nature, nor how many of tlacm the • Japanese have ; but I saw 
various kinds of prepared tobacco among them, from the most 
pleasant to the most disgusting. They cut both the good and the 
bad tobacco very small, as the Chinese do. In the manufacture of 
the better sort, they use sagi to moisten it, and sell it in papers 
which weigh about a Russian pound. The Japanese consider the 
tobacco from Sa,sma as the best, then that from Nangasaki, Sin- 
day, &c. The worst comes from the province of Tzyngaru ; it is 
strong, of a black color, and has a disgusting taste and smell. The 
tobacco from Sasma is, indeed, also strong, but it has an agreeable 
taste and smell, and is of a bright yellow color. The tobacco from 
Nangasaki is very weak, in taste and smell perhaps the best, and 
of a bright brovrn color. The tobacco from Sinday is veiy good, 
and was always given us to smoke. The Japanese manufacture 
tobacco so well, that though I was before ' no friend to smoking, 
and even when I was at Jamaica, could but seldom persuade myself 
to smoke a Havana segar, yet I smoked the Japanese tobacco very 
frequently, and with great pleasure. Snuff is not used in Japan. 
But enough of this plant. I could, indeed, for the pleasure of 
gentlemen who like smoking, write some sheets more on the article 
of tobacco; for there was nothing concerning Vi'hich we had such 
frequent opportunities to converse with the Japanese. The literati, 
the interpreters, and guards, all smoked, and used, too, different 
kinds of tobacco, according to their respective taste or ability. Out 
of politeness, they frequently offered us their tobacco, and men- 
tioned its name. In this manner a conversation usually began 
upon tobacco, which often lasted for hours together. We oftea 



146 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

Lad no opportunity to speak of other more important tilings, and, 
besides, tlie Japanese did not all like to converse upon them. 

The Japanese horses are small and weak. They resemble, in 
size, our farmers' horses, but are much thinner, better shaped, and 
also more spirited, as the Japanese do not castrate them, but always 
ride on stallions. The climate permits the horses, as well as the 
horned cattle, always to eat grass. It is only on journeys, or after 
some hard labor, that a little barley is given them. But in Mats- 
mai and Sagaleen, where a great deal of snow falls in the winter, 
the inhabitants are obliged to lay up a provision of hay. Among 
all the Japanese horses that we saw, we did not observe a single 
white one, but mostly dark brown. We, therefore, asked the 
Japanese if there were no white horses in their principal island, 
and were answered that they were very rarely met with. They 
have also large horses in Japan, but the number of them is very 
small. The Japanese never shoe their horses, for they have no occa- 
sion to drive over ice, and have no pavement. If they travel dur- 
ing the rainy season in mountainous places, where it is slippery, they 
use low pieces of wood, of the size and shape of an ox's or horse's 
boof. These pieces of wood are laid ou the very thick skin of sea- 
lions, or other marine animals, and then iron nails are driven 
through the skin, with large sharp heads, which serve instead of 
shoes, when the skin is bound under the horse's feet. 

The horned cattle are small and poor, for the Japanese do not 
give themselves much trouble about feeding them, as they use 
neither meat nor milk. 

Hemp grows in the northern provinces of Japan. "We saw 
some in Matsmai. I have already mentioned for what purposes 
the Japanese employ it. 

The tree called kadzy grows in great abundance, and is of the 
most important use to the inhabitants. The Japanese explained 
to us what kind of a tree it is, but I never understood them suffi- 
ciently to describe it. 

The Japanese possess, in several parts of the empire, consider- 
able gold and silver mines. The government, however, does not 
permit them all to be worked, that the value of these metals may 
not be depreciated. The Japanese use gold and silver for various 
purposes besides coin. Their temples are ornamented with these 
metals ; people of distinction wear sabres, with gold or silver hilts 
and scabbards ; rich people have gold and silver pipes ; many 
lacquered articles, such as table utensils, boxes, screens, &c., are 
ornamented with gold and silver ; there is a kind of gold and silver 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 147 

stuffs ; nay, we were told that in the principal cities there are 
numerous public buildings with gilded roofs. In the houses of the 
princes and great people, there are many ornaments of these 
metals, and the ladies frequently wear gold and silver trinkets. 

Japan has sufficient lead, tin, quicksilver, and sulphur, for the 
supply of its wants. They cast not only musket bullets, but even 
cannon balls of tin, because they have had no wars for these two 
hundred years. If it was with them as in Europe, this luxury would 
soon cease. As for sulphur, they have an island which is entirely 
covered with it, and which, on account of the hot springs, is 
covered with a constant vapor. This island is one of the seven 
wonders of the Japanese empire, all of which they named to us. 

Having thus spoken of those productions of Japan which supply 
the chief wants of this enlightened people, I proceed to those which 
administer rather to fashion or luxury, or are, at least, less neces- 
sary. They are the following : — 

Diamonds and pearls, marble and other kinds of stone, the cam- 
phor-tree, the varnish-tree, fruit trees, garden j^lants, various wild 
plants, domestic and wild animals, which are used by the Japanese. 

Japan produces precious stones, but of what kinds we were 
not able to learn. The officers who had seen the snuff-box and 
other things, which the Japanese Kodai had received from the late 
Empress Catherine II., and had brought with him to Japan, said 
that there were such stones in Japan as those things were orna- 
mented with, but that the Japanese artists did not understand how 
to give them so beautiful a polish. 

Japan is rich in pearls, but we did not see any remarkably 
large. 

There are various kinds of marble in Japan,. They showed us 
various articles made of white marble, with small blue veins, and 
of another kind of marble like that which Isaac's church, at St. 
Petersburg, is built. They also showed us seals, made of corne- 
lian, agate, jasper and other stones, with which I am unacquainted. 
On the coasts of the principalities of Nanibu and Tzyngavu, there 
are found stones of different colors, and of the size of a nut, which 
are so washed by the waves that they seem almost transparent, like 
crystal. The Japanese gave me twelve red and twelve white 
stones of this kind to use at drafts, but the sailor, whom I ordered 
to take them with him, lost them. 

Many Japanese 'carry perfumes about them ; among which is 
camphor. They told us that in the southern part of Japan, the 
tree which produces it grows in such abundance, that notwithstand- 



148 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

ing tlie great consumption of it in the country, large quantities are 
exported by the Dutch and Chinese. There is also an imitation 
of camphor in Japan, but everybody can, distinguish it from the 
genuine. 

The Japanese yavnish is celebrated even in Europe. The tree 
■which produces this juice grows in such abundance that the 
Japanese lacquer all their table utensils, boxes, saddles, bows, 
arrows, spears, sheaths, cartouch-boxes, tobacco-boxes ; in their 
houses, the walls and screens, and, in short, every trifle that they 
wish to ornament. We had the pleasure to see a masterpiece in 
varnishing : — It was a bottle-case belonging to the governor, who 
sent it for us to look at. The polish on it was so beautiful that we 
could see our faces in it as in a min-or. The natural color of this 
juice is white, but it assumes any color by being mixed with it. 
The best varnish in Japan is usually black or red, and almost 
everything is so varnished ; but we saw also, green, yellow, blue, 
and other varnish. In vavuishing they also imitate marble. The 
juice, when fi-esh, is poisonous, and very injurious to those who 
collect it, for which reason they employ various precautions ; but 
after it has stood for some time in the open air, it loses its posion- 
ous quality. The varnished utensils may be used without danger. 
The Japanese are so clever in varnishing, that you may pour hot 
■water into a vessel and drink it, without perceiving the slightest 
smell of the paint. This, however, is true only with respect to 
vessels of the best workmanship ; in others you smeU the paint, 
even if warm water is poured into them. 

The Japanese have no want of fruit trees. They have oranges, 
lemons, peaches, apricots, plums, figs, cherries, pears, apples, 
chesnuts, &c. It is strange, that, with a climate like that of Japan, 
no grapes should flourish there. The Japanese have only small 
wild grapes, which are very sour, and are salted and eaten as salad. 
The reason, perhaps, is that they grow in the woods, under the 
shade of the trees, and that the Japanese do not understand the 
culture of the vine. 

Next to rice and fish, vegetables are the favorite food of the 
Japanese. They have melons, water-melons, gourds, cucumbers, 
turnips, carrots, mustard, &c. We could not learn whether they 
had any cabbages. We frequently explained to them what kind 
of a plant it was, and even made them a drawing of one, but they 
always said that they had nothing like it growing in Japan. Ex- 
cept melons and water-melons, the Japanese eat no vegetables 
raw, and were much surprised when they saw us eat raw cueum- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 149 

bers wltli salt and vinegar. They mix their mustard with vinegar, 
and eat it with fish. 

Thej have also large quantities of red or cayenne pepper, and 
poppies. They eat the pepper raw, with various dishes, or boil it 
in sugar, and use it as a preserve. They mix the poppy with 
sugar or treacle, and eat it with a paste made of pounded rice. 
They use poppy-oil to fry fish in, and in the dressing of various 
dishes. 

Among the vegetable productions used by the Japanese for 
food, are sugar-cane, black and red currants, bird cherry, {Primus 
JBadiis^ Linn.), various herbs, fungi, sea-cabbage, and the berries 
of wild roses, or hips, which grow in abundance in the northern 
provinces of Japan. The Japanese use the latter as a medicine 
against wind, and eat them raw. 

The sugar-cane is rare in Japan, and the sugar which it yields 
is black, and not very sweet ; the want of land, which serves for 
the cultivation of more necessai-y plants, probably hinders the 
Japanese from cultivating this cane, which is merely an article of 
luxury. 

The Japanese salt the currants and bird-cherries, and eat them 
instead of salad. Of the herbs poor people make soup, and also 
eat them salted. Pickled mushrooms are considered as a great 
• delicacy ; they are boiled in soups, salted, or laid in vinegar. 

With respect to the sea-cabbage, this plant, which is disregarded 
almost everywhere else, not only gives food to millions of people in 
Japan, but it is also an article of commerce. The Japanese dry 
it, and then use it in soup, or wrapping it round fish, boil and eat 
both together. Often they broil it over the fire, strew salt on it, 
and eat it without any further dressing. This cabbage serves 
chiefly poor people for their support ; but the rich frequently eat 
them dressed in a different manner, and even the Emperor's 
kitchen, is furnished with it. 

The domestic animals of the Japanese, besides horses and oxen, 
which I have mentioned before, are swine, dogs, and cats. The 
first are used as food by those sects that are permitted to eat 
meat. The dogs are employed in the chase and to guard the 
houses, and the cats perform the same services as in Europe, 
though a writer upon Japan says, that the Japanese cats do not 
catch mice. This is, however, false ; were it not, nature must 
deviate in Japan, from her own laws. Besides, experience has 
convinced us of the contrary. A Japanese he-cat that we had 
understood his business perfectly, and was not inferior to any of 



150 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

his European brethren. I must observe, besides, that he often 
amused us in prison bj his tricks, and was our favorite, and, there- 
fore, was never in want of food 5 yet instinct made him catch the 
rats and mice. If European writers have so often denied to 
Japanese animals the qualities with which nature has endowed 
them, can we wonder that they painted the Japanese in such false 
colors .'' 

Chickens and ducks are the only domestic fowl that the Japanese 
use (though but seldom) as food. Though it is permitted in some 
sects, yet, from attachment to these animals, they do not like to 
kill them. If one of us was ill, and the Japanese wished to make 
him some chicken broth, as they had heard that it was usually 
given to the sick in Europe, they had great difficulty in finding 
anybody who would sell them a fowl, though they offered a high 
price for one. 

The Japanese are fond of eggs ; they boil them hard, and eat 
them at the dessert like fruit, frequently with oranges. For us, 
they boiled them in soup with vegetables. For people of dis- 
tinction, fowls are kept in rooms, where they lay their eggs, and 
are fed with rice. The great people would not eat the eggs of 
fowls that run about at their will, and pick up what they can find. 
Many keep also swans, geese, and turkeys, but merely for pleasure, 
as we do peacocks, which they also have. 

Of wild quadrupeds, the Japanese use for some purposes the 
following : — Wild boars, bears, deer, hares, and wild goats. Those 
sects which are allowed to eat meat, use them for food ; and in 
the northern parts of Japan, where the winters are very cold, the 
poor people use bear-skins as quilts. The rich have traveling-bags 
or cases, made of these skins, to put over things which they desire 
to protect against bad weather, such as trunks with clothes, bottle- 
cases, and the like. 

The gall of the bear is made by them into a solid nfess, and 
used as a strengthening medicine for weakness in the stomach and 
other disorders. It is highly valued by the Japanese for its medi- 
cinal virtue, and paid for at a high price. They afiirm that the 
gall of those bears which are killed in the island of Niphon is far 
more efficacious than that of the bears of Matsmai, which latter are 
therefore less esteemed. The hunters often practice great frauds 
in the sale of the bear's gall. When they are on the chase they 
kill all the animals that come in their way, and take out the gall. 
If they have the good fortune to kill a bear, they carry him home 
as publicly as possible, in order to attract attention ; and as the 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 151 

Japanese miss no opportunity of purchasing tlie valuable medicine, 
all who meet the hunters ask if they have already sold the bear's 
gall ? The huntsman then gives them the gall of some other 
animal, and if the purchaser is not a judge, he is defrauded. In 
this manner they will sell the gall of a bear many times over. 
Many of the Japanese, however, are able to distinguish by the 
taste, not only the gall of any animal from that of a bear, but even 
the gall of the bear of Niphon from that of those of Matsmai. 
Our interpreter, Kumaddschero, was such a judge. The method 
of using this remedy is very simple — they bite oif little pieces and 
swallow them. 

Of deer-skins the Japanese manufacture a kind of thick and 
fine chamois leather. 

Of useful insects the Japanese have silk-worms and bees. The 
honey which the latter produce is employed only in medicine, and 
the was used only by apothecaries for plasters. 

In the third and last division of the productions of Japan, I 
reckon those from which the inhabitants derive little or no advan- 
tage ; among them I may mention coals, which are in abundance 
in Japan, but not used. 

Raspberries, wild and garden strawberries, which we esteem so 
highly in Europe, are not eaten by the Japanese. They consider 
them as unwholesome. These fruits, however, are really not at all 
pleasant in Japan ; they are, indeed, as large as. ours, and of a 
dark red color, but they are not sweet, are very watery, and almost 
without smell. In general the Japanese eat no berries that grow 
on herbs. 

The following wild quadrupeds are found in Japan : — Bears, 
panthers, leopards, wolves, wild dogs, and foxes. Many super- 
stitious Japanese ascribe to the last the power of the devil. In 
the southern and middle provinces of the empire there are monkeys 
of a small race ; in the Island of Matsmai, sables, but their fur is 
reddish, and, therefore, does not bear a high price. Elephants, 
tigers, lions, camels, apes, greyhounds, pointers, setting-dogs, and 
"^her species of dogs are known to the Japanese only from drawings. 

There are numerous kinds of birds of prey in Japan, such as 
)agles, falcons, hawks, kites, &c. Of wild fowl, the sects that may 
3at meat use geese and ducks for food. Swans and cranes are 
leld sacred, and nobody dares to kill them. Of singing birds, such 
IS we also have, we saw in cages, starlings, bullfinches, and green- 
inches, but no others. The Japanese are fond of singing-birds in 
heir houses, and there are shops that deal in them. , 



152 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

More common birds, sucli as cuckoos, ravens, crows, sparrows, 
&c., are as numerous in the north of Japan and Matsmai as with, 
us. Parrots and canary birds are not met with in Japan. On 
the coasts there is abundance of sea-fowl, such as albatrosses, cor- 
morants, various species of gulls, Greenland pigeons, &c. 

This is all that I am able to say of the natural productions of 
Japan. 

In speaking of the manufactures of this empire, those of silk, 
steel, porcelain, and laccjuered goods, must have the first place. 

The silk manufactories are important, not only on account of the 
quantity but also of the good quality of the articles which they 
furnish. The Japanese make several kinds of staffs and costly ar- 
ticles, which are not at all inferior to those of China. 

With respect to steel manufiietures, the Japanese sabres and 
daggers surpass all others in the world, those of Damascus, per- 
haps, excepted. They bear extraordinary trials. The Japanese 
are extremely skillful in polishing steel, and all other metals. They 
make metal mirrors, which are scarcely inferior to looking-glasses. 
We often saw carpenters' and cabinetmakers' tools, made in Japan, 
which might almost be compared with the English. Their saws 
are so good that the thinnest boards may be sawn out of the hardest 
wood. 

That the Japanese lacquered goods surpass those of other nations 
is notorious. 

The Japanese porcelain is far superior to the Chinese ; but it is 
dearer, and manufactured in such small quantities, that it is insuffi- 
cient for the consumption of Japan itself, so that a great deal of 
porcelain is imported from China. The Japanese have also a 
more ordinary porcelain and earthen-ware, but they are both coarse 
and clumsy. It is only on the best porcelain that they employ 
much time and labor. 

The cotton manufactories must be extremely numerous, from the 
universal use of cotton-stuffs ; but the Japanese want either skill 
or inclination to manufacture good articles out of cotton. At 
least, we never saw anything particular of this kind. When they 
saw our East India pocket-handkerchiefs and muslin neck-cloths, 
they would not believe that they were made of cotton. 

In the working of metals the Japanese are extremely skillful, 
particularly in the manufacture of copper utensils. 

The Japanese understand the art of casting metal statues ; they 
also carve them in stone and wood ; but, to judge by the idols 
which we saw in the temples at Matsmai, these arts are very im- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 153 

perfect among them. In these, as well as in painting, engraving, 
and printing, they are far behind even those Europeans among 
whom these arts are still in their infancy. In carving, they are 
tolerably skilled ; and their gold, silver, and copper coins are well 
executed. They follow various trades with success. They have 
great distilJeries, in which they distill, from rice, their brandy, called 
sotscMo, and their wine, sagi ; also tobacco manufactories, iron 
works, &c. Thousands are employed in the manufacture of straw 
shoes, hats, and mats. The manufactories are spread over the 
whole kingdom, but the principal are in the cities of Kio, Yeddo, 
and Osaga. 

The Japanese pursue, with equal diligence, various other species 
of employment, particularly the fishery. They catch animals of 
various kinds in traps, but they shoot still more ; they use dogs 
merely to trace them. They take birds in nets, as well as by 
shooting them. A particular method is employed to catch small 
birds ; they make of tar, or the sap of a tree, a thick and clammy 
paste, with which they smear the trunks of fallen trees, and strew 
rice around. The rice tempts the birds, which stick to the trees 
and are caught in flocks. 

Before I finish my account of the industry of the Japanese, I 
must observe that there are among thein, as among all nations, idle 
people, who ramble about the streets and public houses, and seek 
their living by juggler's tricks and begging. The following method 
by which idle people, especially women, gain money, deserves par- 
ticular mention : — They catch a number of snakes, of diiferent 
sizes and colors, from which they extract the sting so skillfully that 
they cannot do any mischief. Then they strip themselves quite 
naked, cover merely the parts which decency teaches even savages 
to conceal, and wind snakes round their arms, legs, and their whole 
body. In this manner they make themselves a motley covering of 
the open, hissing serpents' heads ; and in this dreadful and brilliant 
costume, they ramble about the streets, sing, dance, and play all 
manner of antics, to obtain a reward, or rather charity. 

Japan may certainly be called a commercial state, if an exten- 
sive national trade alone gives a claim to this title. AH the prin- 
cipalities and provinces of this populous empire have a commercial 
intercourse with each other. The extraordinary diversity of cli- 
mate produces, in the different provinces, a great variety of articles 
which all mutually want. Necessity, the industry and activity of 
the people give them means to make use of the productions of na- 
ture and art ; so that the inhabitants of the whole empire carry ou 



154 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

a commercial intercourse with eacli other, both by land and water. 
The latter is the most common. The sea along the coasts, and 
the navigable rivers, are covered with thousands of vessels, which 
convey goods to all parts of the empire. 

Though theu' navigation is wholly confined to the coasts, and 
their vessels quite unfit for long voyages, particularly in great seas ; 
they, however, ai'e well adapted to their purposes. Many of them 
are above 100 feet long, and uncommonly broad. The largest Ja- 
panese ships can carry a burthen of from 16,000 to 20,000 poods. 

The Japanese have many useful regulations and institutions for 
the safety of navigation ; such as pilots in every port, to conduct 
the ships in and out, and to foretell the weather, according to cer- 
tain signs, in order to advise the captains either to sail, or to wait. 
In dangerous places, people are employed to keep up fires. Upon 
eminences, marks are set up for the direction of mariners, &c. 
For the conveyance of goods by land, where it cannot be made by 
water, good roads and bridges are constructed. Matsmai is merely 
a Japanese colony ; yet, notwithstanding the high mountains and 
precipices, the rapid torrents, and the rudeness of the climate, the 
roads are in an admirably good condition. In the open country, 
far from the towns, we saw bridges, such as I did not meet with in 
many European states, and in provincial towns. 

The commercial spirit of the Japanese is visible in all the towns 
and villages. In almost every house there is a shop for more or less 
important goods ; and, as we see in England the magnificent maga- 
zine of a jeweler next door to an oyster-shop, so we see here a 
rich silk merchant and a mender of straw shoes live and carry on 
their business close to each other. In their regard to order, the 
Japanese very much resemble the English ; they love cleanliness 
and the greatest accuracy. All goods have, in Japan, as in Eng- 
land, little printed bills, on which are noted the price, the use, and 
the name of the article, the name of the maker, or manufactory, 
and often something in their praise. Even tobacco, pomatum, 
tooth-powder, and other trifles, are wrapped up in papers, on which 
a notice of the quality and the price is printed. In packing up 
goods, they observe the same order as in Europe. Eice and other 
grain they pack in sacks made of straw. They have no casks for 
liquids, but keep them, as sotschio, sagi, soja, &c., in tubs which 
hold three or four pailfuls. These tubs have only wooden hoops, 
and are broader above than below ; in the top-board there is a 
Small hole, generally square. The best kind of sagi is kept in 
large earthen jars. Stufis of all kinds, tea, &c., are packed up 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 155 

in chests. Silk goods are laid in pieces, in separate chests, which 
are made of very thin boards, and have an inscription, indi- 
cating the article, the name of the maker, the measure and the 
quality. 

In every port there is a bureau, or custom-house, which has the 
superintendence of the loading and unloading of goods, takes care 
that nothing is privately imported or exported, levies the duty, and 
has also other functions. The duty for almost all goods imported 
is paid by the merchants into the coffer of the Emperor, or of the 
Princes, according as the port is in the dominions of the Emperor 
or of one of the Princes. The superintendence of the ships in the 
port is confided to an officer, whose functions nearly correspond 
with those of our harbor-masters. In Japan, they are also super- 
intendents of the pilots. Before we were released from Japan, 
we lived at Chakodade, in the house of a harbor-master, and saw 
that a great many seamen and other persons came to him every 
morning, whence we could conclude that his post was not incon- 
siderable. 

For the advantage of the merchants, and to facilitate trade, the 
government publishes a kind of commercial gazette, which contains 
an account of the prices of goods in the different parts of the em- 
pire. In the same manner, the public is informed by little billets, 
of the good crop of rice, and other productions, in all the pro- 
vinces ; nay, from the time that the corn begins to shoot, till the 
harvest, the people are informed, from time to time, of its condi- 
tion. This attention of the Japanese government to the general 
and individual interests of its subjects, is highly laudable, and may 
serve as one reason for us Europeans no longer to look upon the 
Japanese as barbarians. 

In order to extend trade over the whole empire, and give the 
merchants more resources and facilities, the Japanese have intro- 
duced bills of exchange and promissory notes, such as are met with 
in the European states, under the protection of the laws. In one 
of the southern principalities of Japan there are bank notes, which 
circulate as money. There are three kinds of coin in Japan — • 
gold, silver, and copper. The latter are round, with holes in the 
middle, by which they are put upon a string, and carried, as in a 
purse. This money is called by the Japanese mon. When they 
saw our copecs they compared them with this coin, and found that 
four Japanese mon made one ropec. The gold and silver coins are 
longish, four-cornered, and thicker than an imperial. The name, 
value, date of the year, and name of the maker are stamped on 



156 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

each. As I had no opportunity of learning either the standard 
of the metal, or the weight, I cannot compare them with our coin. 

The greatest trade by land is carried on in the city of Kio, the 
residence of the Spiritual Emperor. This city does not lie on the 
sea, but is very populous, and has manufactories of all kinds ; it is, 
therefore, visited by merchants from all parts of the empire, who 
cannot convey their own goods thither, or bring away what they 
purchase, except by land. Of all the maratime cities, Yeddo, the 
residence of the Temporal Emperor, and the Osaga, the most 
beautiful of all the cities, 120 Japanese ri, (or 500 wersts), south- 
west of Yeddo, carry on the greatest trade. There are, besides, 
in almost every Principality that borders on the sea, considerable 
commercial cities. 

It is well known in Europe, how restricted the trade with 
foreigners is in Japan. The cause of it is probably the distrust of 
the Japanese government of the Europeans, and their bad opinion 
of them, for which it must be owned that the Europeans alone are 
to blame. Whether the Japanese government judges rightly or 
not, I leave others to decide, and will merely observe that the 
people of Japan, in general, wish to trade with foreigners, particu- 
larly Europeans. The enlightened Japanese reason as follows : — 
" The people are blind, as far as regards the government of this 
kingdom, and only know superficially what most nearly concerns 
them. They cannot see two steps before them, and, therefore, 
might easily fall down a precipice, unless they were guided by per- 
sons who can see. Thus, the Japanese, without considering the 
bad consequences which might result from an intercourse with 
foreigners, see only the personal advantage which they might derive 
from trading with them." 

Till the attempt of the Europeans to introduce the Christian re- 
ligion into Japan, that empire carried on an extensive commerce 
with all the East. Japanese ships sailed not only to China and 
the Indian Islands, but even to the continent of India, which the 
Japanese call Tendzigu. But the Christian religion, or rather the 
Catholic preachers of it, inspired the people with such terror, that 
the government, after the extirpation of Christianity, two centuries 
ago, forbade the Japanese, under pain of death, to travel to foreign 
countries, and did not allow foreigners to come to Japan, except 
with great precautions, and in small numbers. Japanese ships can 
now only trade to Corea and the Likeo (Loo-Choo) Islands, be- 
cause the inhabitants are considered, in some measure, as Japanese 
subjects, as they pay tribute. Only Corean, Loo-Choo, and Ja- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 157 

panese ships are admitted in Japan, but in small number. Of tbe 
Em'opeans only the Dutch have a right to trade with them, but on 
such hard terms, that the Dutch, in Japan, more resemble prisoners 
than free men who are engaged in a commercial intercourse with a 
friendly power. 

The Chinese supply the Japanese with rice, porcelain, wrought 
and unwrought ivory, nankeen, moist sugar, ginseng-root, medici- 
nal herbs, alum, and divers trifles, such as fans, tobacco-pipes, &c. 
They receive from the Japanese, in return, copper, varnish, 
lacquered goods, salted and dried fish, sea-cabbage, and some Ja- 
panese manufactures. 

From the Dutch the Japanese receive sugar, spices, ivory, iron, 
medicines, saltpetre, alum, some sorts of colors, cloth, glass, and 
other European articles, such as watches, looking-glasses, mathe- 
matical instruments, &c. They give, in return, copper, varnish, 
rice, and some of their manufactures, such as lacquered articles, 
porcelain, &c. I heard that the Dutch carry on a very advanta- 
geous trade with the Japanese goods in the Malay and j^Iolucca 
Islands. 

It is only the harbor of Nangasaki, in the south of Japan, that 
is open to the Chinese, as well as to the Dutch ; all other ports 
are shut against them. In the same manner, one and the same 
method is uniformly observed by the Japanese in their trade, or 
rather barter, with the Chinese and Dutch. When a ship enters 
the harbor of Nangasaki, after the usual ceremonies and questions, 
the goods are landed. Then the imperial officers (for the foreign 
trade is a monopoly of the Emperor's,) examine the quality and 
quantity of the goods, consult together, and fix the price on those 
goods which the owners of the ship desire to have in return. The 
latter must either accede to the terms of the Japanese, or take 
back the goods ; for all bargaining is impossible. In this manner, 
the Emperor buys foreign goods, by the medium of his commis- 
sioners, and sells them wholesale to the Japanese merchants, who 
will sell them by retail. To judge by the high prices which are 
paid in Japan for Dutch goods, it must be supposed either that the 
Dutch are paid exorbitantly dear for them, or that the Emperor 
and his merchants fix high prices on them ; probably both are 
gainers. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF JAPAN. 



[From the New York Sun.] 



The recent movement on tlie part of the executive government 
of the United States, having for its object the fitting out and con- 
templated dispatch of a naval expedition to the Japanese islands, 
has naturally directed public opinion to these islands, and a his- 
torical sketch of the Empire of Japan will be considered appro^ 
priate at the present time. The following is a brief condensation of 
the information given in various histories and other publications : — 

JAPAN, ITS SITUATION, EXTENT, ETC. 

The Empire of Japan is composed of an extensive cluster of 
islands lying near the coast of Corea, on the eastern side of Asia, 
in the Norfh Pacific Ocean, between 31'^ and 41° of E. lat. and 
129° and 142° E. long. The principal islands are named Niphon, 
Sikoke, Kiusiu, Awadsi, Sado and Jesso ; besides which the 
Japanese have also colonized the southern portion of the island of 
Sagalian, and claim dominion over the southern half of the Kurile 
Islands. The largest and most important island is Niphon, which 
is upwards of 800 miles in length, but of irregular form, and of 
various breadths ; the other islands are of inconsiderable size and 
note. The whole superficial area of the Empire is estimated at 
about 260,000 square miles. 

DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT BY EUROPEANS. 

Eernando Mendez Pirto, a Portuguese, sailing in a Chinese 
junk from Macao to the Sikes islands, was wrecked on the Japanese 
coast in 1542, and he has the honor of being the first European 
discoverer of Japan. It wa's soon after visited by the Spaniards, 
and their first visit, like the original discoverer of the island, was 
owing to a shipwreck. In the year 1545, the Christian religion 
was introduced by the Jesuit missionaries, and made rapid pro- 
gress. Many of the princes and persons of high rank became 
converts, and a public embassy was sent from the Japanese coast 
with letters and valuable presents to the Roman Pontifi". 



160 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

THE EXTIRPATION OF THE CHRISTIANS 

The Portuguese^ vrlio bad settled in great numbers in Japan, 
intoxicated bj the extent of their commerce and the success of 
their religion, became so obnoxious to the natives by their avari- 
cious and domineexing conduct, that the representatives of the 
heathen priests became at length sufficiently powerful to procm'e a 
prohibition from the Emperor against the new religion. A violent 
persecution was commenced against the Christians, of whom 20,000 
are said to*have been put to death in the year 1590. Still the 
number of proselytes continued to increase, and in 1591 and 1592 
twelve thousand were converted and baptized. One of the Em- 
perors, with his whole court and army, embraced the Christian 
name ; and had the Portuguese acted with ordinary prudence and 
gentleness, their cause must have triumphed ; but' the insolence of 
some of their prelates to some prince of blood, provoked a new 
persecution in the year 1596, which was carried on without inter- 
ruption for the space of 40 years, and ended in the year 1638, 
with the exteiTaiuation of the Christians, and the banishment of 
the Portuguese from the country. 

INTERCOURSE WITH THE DUTCH. 

In 1600 a squadron of five ships, v/hich sailed fi'om the Texel 
for the East Indies, was lost in the Straits of Magellan, with the 
exception of one Dutch ship, steered by an Englishman by the name 
of Vrilliam Adams, which reached the harbor of Bango in lat. 
35*^ 30'. Adams was fortunate enough to ingratiate himself with 
the Emperor of Japan, who loaded him with presents, but would 
not consent to his returning home. The accounts he seat to 
Batavia, with the prospects he held out of a beneficial commerce 
between the two countries, induced the Dutch East India Company 
to dispatch a ship thither in 1609 ; and thus, through the interven- 
tion of one individual, are the Dutch indebted for their establish- 
ment at Japan. They are the only people that have contrived to 
retain the favor of the Japanese, who, under humiliating restric- 
tions, permit them to carry on a trade, limited to the dispatch of 
two small ships annually from Batavia to Japan. Nearly at the 
same time, the English also, by means of their countryman Adams, 
had permission to build a factory on the Island of Firando ; but. 
though they were well received, and allowed to traffic on advan- 
tageous terms, the trade was abandoned for reasons hitherto un- 
explained ; the Datch thus commenced, and they yet remain the 
only European merchants in Japan. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. • 161 

The imports comprise raw silk, woolen, cotton and linen cloths, 
sugar, dye-woods, seal-skins, pepper and other spices, mercury, 
cinnabar, glass-ware, &c. The exports consist chiefly of copper 
in bars, and, to a small amount, camphor, silk fabrics, lacquered 
ware, porcelain, &c. 

GEOGRAPHY OF JAPAN. 

Very little is known regarding the geography of Japan. The 
principal cities of the Empire are Miyako, (the capital), Jeddo, 
Uara, Osaka, situated in the island of Niphon. Nangasaki on the 
west coast of Nin-sui, an open town, with narrow winding streets, is 
the only place where foreigners are allowed to triade. Its harbor 
is one of the best in the world. Of the Japanese coast, it may be 
observed generally, that they are in most places rocky and pre- 
cipitous, presenting a chain of bold promontories, deep bays, and 
rugged peninsulas, abounding with shoals and islets ; the whole 
invested with a turbulent sea, where the navigation is intricate and 
dangerous. The largest river is said to be the Jodo or Zodo, 
which rises from the great central lake of Oitz, and pursues a 
south-west course. The Ujin, Haka, and Oomi, figure in Japanese 
history ; the latter is said to have burst from the ground in one 
night. Over the Wogofa and ' Jedogarva are projected cedar- 
bridges from 300 to 360 feet long. There are various other rivers 
of which little is known. The lake Oitz sends forth two rivers, and 
is said to be 50 Japanese leagues in length, but of inconsiderable 
breadth. Among the mountains are volcanoes, and in the province 
of Figo, one constantly emits flame. The principal mountain is 
Fusi, which is covered with snow the greatest part of the year, but 
the courses of the difi"erent ranges have not been traced, or at least 
we have no account of them. 

CLIMATE, SOIL, AND PRODUCTIONS. 

The climate of Japan is variable throughout the year. The 
heat of summer would be insupportable were it not moderated by 
the sea-breezes. The rainy months begin at mid-summer, when 
abundance of rain falls. In winter, the wind blowing from the 
Arctic Ocean, makes the cold severe ; snow falls in large quantities, 
and is followed by intense frost. Hurricanes and earthquakes are 
not uncommon, and thunder-storms also frequently occur. The 
face of the country is diversified by mountains, hills and valleys, 
and is well watered by rivers and lakes, the general aspect present- 
ing a soil cultivated with industry and freedom. Even the raoun- 



162 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE 

tains and hills form no obstacle to cultivation. Agriculture Taeinir 
held in high estimation in Japan, it meets -with the greatest 
encouragement from the Government. In the southern districts 
rice is raised in large quantities, and forms the usual food of the 
inhabitants. Wheat is little used, but barley, buckwheat, beans, 
potatoes, melons, &c., are raised in abundance. Gringer and pepper 
are the principal spice plants. Cotton and tobacco are also grown ; 
next to rice, however, tea is the grand object of cultivation. The 
greatest care is bestowed upon manuring and cleaning the 
ground. Thunberg (in his travels) affirms that the soil throughout 
Japan is naturally barren, and has been rendered so remarkably 
productive only by the labor and skill of the husbandman. 

The metallic wealth of the country is very abundant, and gold, 
silver, copper, iron, lead, tin and sulphur are abundant. Pit-coal 
is not uncommon in the northern provinces. Red agate, asbestos, 
porcelain clay, pumice-stone, and white marble, are also found; 
and there are several mineral waters which are used by the natives 
in the case of various diseases. The natural forest produces oaks, 
firs and cypresses ; there is also the gum-varnish tree, the camphor- 
laurel, and many others of great value. Among the wild animals 
may be enumerated bears, boars, foxes, dogs, monkeys, hares, &c. 
Buffaloes and beefs are not numerous, and are used only for 
draught. The horses are small, and used only by the nobility — 
while sheep and pigs are almost unknovra. Dogs are held sacred 
by the men, and cats are the constant companions and pets of the 
women. Birds are numerous, and of various species. Snakes, 
tortoises, lizards, scorpions, centipedes and white ants abound. 
Fish, which is an important object to the Japanese and a principal 
part of their subsistence, are very numeroiis around the coasts, 
especially salmon, perch, eels, shrimps, oysters, crabs ; and the flesh 
of whales, which are kUled by harpoons, is sold in the markets as 
an ordinary article of food among the poorer people. 

CHARACTERISTICS AND DRESS OF THE JAPANESE. 

The Japanese are a mixed race of Mogul and Malay origin. 
Their language is polysyllabic, and has an alphabet of 47 letters, 
which are written in five different forms, one of which is used 
exclusively by the men, and another by the women. The people 
of this nation are well made, active, free and easy in their 
motions, and stout-limbed. The men are middle-sized, and in 
general not corpulent, . yellow complexions, oblong black eyes, 
which are sunk in the' head, short and flat noses, broad head, and 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 163 

black hair. They are said to be an intelligent and provident 
people, inquisitive and ingenious, frank and good-humored, upright 
and honest, brave and unyielding, capable of concealing and con- 
troling their feelings in an extraordinary degree, but distrustful, 
proud, unforgiving and revengeful. The usual dress of the 
Japanese is a short upper garment, with wide sleeves, and a com- 
plete gown underneath, fastened around the neck, and reaching 
quite down to the feet. 

The rich are clothed in silks, the poor in coarse woolen stuffs. 
The upper garment is generally black, the under-dress is of mixed 
colors. Every one has his family-arms, about the size of a half dol- 
lar, wrought into his clothes in different places. In winter they wear 
five or six dresses over each other. Instead of shoes, they have 
soles, merely, of straw, fastened to the great toe by a loop. They 
do not use parasols in sunshine, nor umbrellas in rainy weather ; 
but in traveling, conical caps, fans, umbrellas, and cloaks, made of 
oiled paper, are commonly used. They pay great attention to the 
ornamenting and dressing of their hair, which is collected in a tuft 
on the crown of their head, and they study great cleanliness of 
person. 

HOUSES AND MODE OF LIVING. 

In Japan the houses are of wood, never exceeding two stories, 
the upper ones consisting chiefly of garrets and lumber-rooms. 
Though the house is commodious, it consists in general of one room, 
capable, by movable partitions and screens, of being divided into 
apartments. Neither tables or chairs are used, the people sitting 
squat on straw-mats, in which position they eat their food. 

The diet of the Japanese is composed of a greater variety of 
articles than that of any people in the world. Not content with 
the many kinds of wholesome and nutritive food supplied by the 
produce of their lands and waters, they contrive by their modes of 
preparing their victuals, to render the less valuable, and even the 
poisonous parts of animal and vegetable substances useful, or at 
least harmless articles of subsistence. At meals, the portion for 
each person- is served up in neat vessels of porcelain or japanned 
wood, which are lai-ge . basins, furnished with lids. The guests 
salute each other with a low bow before they begin to eat ; and, 
like the Chinese, take up food by means of two small pieces of wood, 
held between the fingers of the right hand, and used with the 
greatest dexterity, so as to pick up the smallest grain of rice. Be^. 
tweeu each dish they drink warm Jacki [sagi] , or rice-beer, out of 



164 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

sballow saucers, and at the same time occasionally take a bite of a 
hard-boiled egg. 

Some of the most common dishes are fish boiled with onions and 
a kind of small bean, or dressed in oil. Fowls stewed and pre- 
pared in various modes, and boiled rice, which supplies the place 
of bread for all their provisions. Oils, mushrooms, carrots, and 
various bulbous roots, are used in making up their dishes. It ia 
customary to eat three times a day ; at eight o'clock in the morn- 
ing, two in the afternoon, and eight in the evening. The women 
eat by themselves, apart from the men. The practice of smoking 
tobacco, which is supposed to have been introduced into Japan by 
the Portuguese, is very common with both sexes. 

MARRIAGE AND FUNERAL CEREMONIES. 

Polygamy is allowed in Japan, though in general, all but one 
female, who is acknowledged a wife, are merely regarded as concu- 
bines. This is the case with the higher classes. The women are 
allowed a higher station than in the most Oriental countries. She 
is the companion and not the slave of the man. Marriages are 
solemnized in the open air, in the presence of the priests and rela- 
tions of the parties, without much pomp or solemnity. The bride- 
groom and bride advance to an altar, erected for the purpose, with 
a torch in their hands, and while the priest reads a form of pray- 
er, the bride, having lighted her torch at a burning lamp, holds it 
out to the bridegroom, who lights his torch from hers. The guests 
then congratulate the new married couple, and the ceremony is 
concluded. Prostitution is carried on to a horrid extent, and so 
little discredit is attached to the prostitutes, that they are received 
without remark in respectable society. 

The bodies of persons of distinction at death are burned, while 
others are interred. The funeral-pile is erected in a small house 
of stone fitted for the purpose, and provided with a chimney. The 
body is brought thither, accompanied by men and women, and at- 
tended by a numerous train of priests, who are continually occupied 
in singing. Upon reaching the place for burning, one of the priests 
sings the eulogy of the deceased, and having thrice waved a 
lighted torch over the body, throws it away. It is then picked up 
by one of the children, or other relatives of the deceased, and ap- 
plied to the burning pile. The clothes are carried away in a costly 
vessel, and preserved for some time in the house, but afterwards 
buried in the earth. Those who are not burned are inclosed in 
a wooden chest and let down into a grave in the customary man- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 165 

ner. Fragrant spices are thrown into the grave, and flowers plant- 
ed on the earth which covers it. 

RELIGION AND EDUCATION. ' 

The established or state religion of Japan is that of Buddha, but 
it has many varieties, and much superstition prevails among its vo- 
taries. The peculiar tenet of the Buddha sect is, that the soul of 
men and of beasts are equally immortal, and that the souls of the 
wicked are condemned to undergo punishment and purification, by 
passing after death into the bodies of the lower animals. The an- 
cient sect called Sinto (though its adherents are few,) seems to 
have been originally simple and pure in its tenets. They consider 
the founders of the empire as the immediate descendants of the 
Supreme Grod, who came down from Heaven into Japan, and have 
continued without interruption to exercise sovereign authority. 

They believe the spirit of their ruler to be immortal, and consider 
the Supreme Being too great to be addressed in prayer, except 
through the mediation of the Mikaclo, the Son of Heaven, or the 
inferior spirits called Kami, to whom temples are specially erected. 
They have some conception of the soul's immortality, and believe 
that a happy abode immediately under heaven is assigned to the 
spirits of the virtuous, while those of the wicked shall be doomed 
to wander to and fro under the firmament. Their practical pre- 
cepts are directed to lead a virtuous life, and obey the laws of the 
sovereign. The Dairi, or ecclesiastical sovereign, seems to be the 
grand head of all the sects, and appoints the priests. Every sect 
has its respective church and peculiar idols. The inferior divini- 
ties are innumerable, as almost every trade has its tutelar god ; 
and in one temple no less than 33,333 are said to be ranged around 
the Supreme Deity. 

Monks, religious beggars, and singing girls, go about the coun- 
try and levy considerable sums. In literature the Japanese are 
said to excel. They study medicine and astronomy, history, poe- 
try, and several of the natural sciences are cultivated, and there is 
a prevalent taste for drawing, engraving and music. The samsic 
or guitar is ever invariably made a part of female education, as the 
piano is in enlightened countries. Schools generally abound. The 
children are stimulated to emulation and worthy achievements by 
the recital of songs in praise of their deceased heroes. A few of 
the more studious acquire the Chinese language, and some of the 
physicians are able to understand the Dutch, and even the Latin. 
The Japanese have many of the arts in a perfection not yet at- 



166 " JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

tained by tlieir more civilized cotemporaries. In tliose of smelting 
and refining metals they excel. Their copper, iron and steel, are 
celebrated for their purity. The finer products of European art 
are imitated by them, and telescopes, thermometers, clocks and 
watches, are manufactured at Kangasaki. 

GOVERNMENT, LAWS AND POPULATION. 

The form of government in Japan is pure despotism. The sove- 
reignty was formerly vested in the Dairi or spiritual monarch, but 
in 1593, the Kubo or military commander, usurped the chief civil 
power, and the Dairi has ever since been the tool in the government, 
though he has been left the entire superintendence of religion and 
education. All public acts must have his sanction, and to him 
alone belongs the power of conferring honorary distinctions. The 
general executive government is confided to several councilors ; 
the supreme judicial council is composed of five daimios who assist 
the Kubo in deciding on political offences, and a senate of fifteen 
daimios form the ordinary court of criminal and civil law. The 
laws are severe and often sanguinary, and death by decapitation 
and crucifixion are ordinary punishments. Minor offences are 
punished by exile to the penal settlements of Falsisio — banishment, 
imprisonment, torture, &c. ; and it often happens that the Courts 
visit with punishment not only the delinquent, but his relations and 
friends, or the stranger that has happened to witness the crime. 
The prisons are gloomy and frightful dungeons, and the police are 
extremely strict. The whole government is conducted under a 
state of terrorism, and no part of it is free from restraint. 

The public revenues are derived from taxes, on lands and horses. 
The amount of the population is entirely unknown, but has been 
variously estimated. Balbi, in the assumption that Japan is equally 
populous with China, rates it at S5,000,000 ; but as China rates 
double the number this geographer has assigned to it, the popula- 
tion of Japan should, on this principle, amount to fifty or sixty 
millions. All travelers who have visited Japan, agree in stating, 
that an overflowing population is seen moving abotit the streets and 
highways. We must reckon Japan one of the most populous 
countries, in proportion to the extent of surface, in the world. The 
army, in time of peace, is rated at 120,000 infantry and 20,000 
cavalry. There is no armed navy. The internal history of Japan 
is little known ; and it is to be hoped that the proposed naval ex- 
. pedition will be the means of procuring information, which will re- 
sult in the publication of an extended history of the country. 



THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN. 



[From the National Intelligencer.] 



Messrs. Gtales & Seaton, — As anything whicli relates to 
Japan at the present time may be interesting, I send you the fol- 
lowing concise sketch of that kingdom : — It is called by the natives 
Niphon, and was founded about six hundred and sixty-five years 
before Christ, by Simmu. From him to Sinzakin there appears to 
have been sixty-one emperors. After this period, in the year 1142, 
a change took place. From this time a double chronology com- 
mences, including the reigns of the Dearios and Cubos. The 
Dearios were military officers, and at one period completely usurped 
the power of the emperors ; but a general, by the name of Jeretimo, 
being crowned, succeeded in depriving the Dearios of all military 
power. At the present time the kingdom of Japan is governed by 
an emperor with full military powers, a Deario with full civil 
powers, and a Cubo, or prime minister, who has authority over cer- 
tain cities, their parliament, &c. ' 

The kingdom of Japan consists of three large and thirty or 
forty smaller islands, situated oif the coast- of China. The largest 
of these islands is Niphon, the next Jesso. On the Island of 
Bungo, south-west of Tonsa, is the city of Nangaschi, and near that 
city is the little artificial island of Disna, on which a Dutch factory 
is built. 

Jeddo, or Yeddo, the capital of the whole empire, is situated in 
the midst of a fine plain, in the province of Musace. It is built in 
the form of a crescent, and intersected in almost every street by 
canals, their banks being planted with rows of beautiful trees. 
The city is not surrounded, as most Eastern cities are, by a wall, 
but has a strong castle to defend it. The river Tongag waters it, 
and supplies the castle-ditch, and, being divided into five streams, 
has a bridge over each. The public buildings are on a magnificent 
scale. The imperial palace is jPormed by three cinctures, or circular 
piles of buildings, and inclosing many streets, courts, apartments, 
pavilions, guard-houses, gates, drawbridges, gardens, canals, &c. 



168 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

In it reside tlie emperor and his family, the royal domestics, tribu- 
tary princes and their retinues, the ministers of state, many other 
officers of government, and a strong garrison. The walls of this 
magnificent palace are built of free-stone, without cement, and the 
stones prodigiously large. The whole pile was orginally covered 
with gilt tiles, which gave it a very grand and beautiful appearance. 
Many of the stately apartments are formed and altered at pleasure, 
by movable screens. The principal apartments are the Hall of 
Attendance, the Council Chamber, Hall of a Thousand Mats, &c. 
The city is under the rule of two governors, who rule a year each. 

The next largest city is Meaco. It is also a royal city, and is 
situated on a lake near the middle of the Island of Niphon, and 
surrounded by mountains, which give a remarkable and delightful 
prospect to the whole ; the circumjacent country between the city 
and the mountains is covered with temples, sepulchres, &c,, and is 
embellished with a variety of orchards, groves, cascades, and purling 
streams. Three considerable rivers ^ater this fertile plain, and 
unite their streams in the centre of the city, where a magnificent 
stone-bridge facilitates the communication between the diflferent 
parts of the city. A strong castk defends the town ; it is six hun- 
dred yards in lengthy has a tower in the centre, and is surrounded 
by two ditches, the one dry, the other full of water. This splendid 
city is twenty miles long, and nine wide, within the suburbs, which 
are as well populated as the city. The number of the inhabitants 
of the city proper is supposed to be 529,000. The universities, 
colleges, temples, &c., are almost incredible in number and mag- 
nificence. It contains twelve capital or principal streets, in the 
•centre of which are the royal palaces, superbly built of marble, and 
adorned with gardens, orchards, pavilions, terraces, groves, &c. 

The next principal town is Ozeaco. It is deemed the chief sea- 
port, is very populous, and has an army of 80,000 »ie?i, always 
ready, at the disposal and command of the emperor. It is near 
fifteen miles in circumference. 

The city of Nangascke is the Japanese naval depot ; but as they 
have not yet found any use for a navy, their vessels are only in the 
rough material, and stored away for emergencies. The kokansa 
or prison is here. The name means, in the Japanese, hell ; it has 
one hundred dungeons and cages. The history of these few cities 
gives a fair outline of their whole empire. Their private dwellings 
are small but neat, and ornamented with small gardens ; in this 
they excel, as they are the very best of horticulturists. A few feet 
of ground are turned to the best advantage, ^s the Japanese uu- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 169 

derstand perfectly the art of dwarfing plants, trees, fruits, and 
flowers. They use neither tables, bedsteads, nor chairs ; but sit, 
eat, and sleep, like most eastern nations, on mats. 

Almost the first accomplishment learned by tliem is the art and 
grace of suicide ; the child in the nursery stabs itself with its fin- 
ger or stick, and falls back in imitative death ; the lover cuts out 
his intestines before his obdurate mistress, and the latter pours out 
her heart's blood in the face of her faithless lover ; the criminal 
executes himself; and, in fact, the whole nation, from early youth, 
revels in the luxury of suicide. 

Their trade is at present under great restrictions, as they only 
trade with the Chinese and Dutch. The latter have always fos- 
tered, cherished and increased the prejudices of the Japanese 
against all other nations, particularly the French, English, and 
Portuguese. 

The mechanics and manufacturers in Japan excel in their 
different branches, and are even far superior to the Chinese. Their 
silks and cottons are excellent, and their Japan ware and porcelain 
unequaled. Their exports are raw and manufactured silks, iron, 
steel, artificial metals, furs, teas, finer than the Chinese, Japan 
ware, gold, silver, copper, gums, medicinal herbs, roots, diamonds, 
pearls, coral, shells, ambegris, &c. Whatever goods the Japanese 
want, they pay for in gold and silver. 

The Japanese worship the principal two gods, Xaca and Amida. 
At Meaco there is a stately temple, built to one of these gods ; it 
is of free-stone, as large as St. Paul's, with an arched roof, sup- 
ported by heavy pillars, in which stands an idol of copper, which 
reaches as high as the roof; and, according to a description giten 
by Sir Thomas Herbert, his chair is seventy feet high and eighty 
feet long ; the head is big enough to hold fifteen men, and the 
thumb forty inches in circumference. There is another statue 
called after the god Dabio, made of copper, twenty-two feet high, 
in a sitting posture. This shows that the Japanese understand 
the art of working in bronze, and they are far ahead of Christian 
nations in this particular. They allow polygamy, and they often 
strangle their female children, but never the males. The nobility 
extract the two front teeth, and supply them with two of gold. 

The principal rivers are the Ujingava and Askagava — the former 
so rapid and wide that a bridge cannot be built over it ; the latter 
remarkable for its depth and perpetual fluctuations. The chief 
lake, called Citz, is 100 miles long and 21 wide. A large valley 
exists in the interior, filled with carbonic gas, and called the Valley 



170 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

of tlie Upas. It is covered with the skeletons of numerotis vi'Ai 
and tame beasts and birds. The emperor, it is said, often sent 
criminals to the valley to bring away a precious gem of inestimable 
value ; and the bones of men also whiten its deadly sides. 

Acidulated lakes and thermal springs are common throughout 
several of the islands. 

Their great source of opulence are their mines of gold and silver, 
but they have no antimony, calamine, sal ammoniac, boras, or 
cinnebar, (quicksilver). These articles are in demand, and bring 
a high price. Birds and every kind of duck and poultry are 
plenty ; camphor-trees are abundant, and the cedars are the finest 
in the world. Few countries open so fair a field as the islands of 
Japan for botanical and geological research. 

It is not necessary here to enter into a detailed statistical ac- 
count of the commerce of Japan. A direct trade to that empire 
would increase the commerce of this country about $200,000,000 
annually, if not more. 

It has always been in contemplation with this country to make 
an effort to open a direct trade with Japan. Commodore Porter, 
as far back as 1815, addressed a letter to Mr. Monroe on the sub- 
ject. It was intended to fit out a frigate and two sloops-of-war, 
and place them under his command, but subsequent events pre- 
vented the consummation of this design, but it has been revived 
from time to time without being carried out. But a few years ago 
the undersigned drew the attention of the Hon. John Y. Mason to 
the subject by the recommendation of a steam line to China, with 
a view of incidental commercial intercourse, and finally direct trade 
with Japan. It would require but small efforts to accomplish com- 
mercial intercourse with so shrewd a people as the Japanese, who 
are alive to commercial feelings. A steam line direct from New 
York to the Isthmus being already in existence, it is an easy matter 
to continue it to the Grallipagoes, which islands abound in coal ; 
thence to the Marquesas, and on to Shanghai or Jeddo. 

W. D. POKTER. 



THE JAPANESE EXPEDITION 



[From the Correspondent of the New York Herald.] 



THE INSTRUCTIONS TO THE COMMODORE. 

Washington, April 20, 1852. 

The President recently transmitted to the Senate a communica- 
tion containing official documents relative to the Empire of Japan, 
under a resolution of the 4th of March. These documents consist 
of extracts from the instructions given by the State Department 
to various individuals, since 1832, together 'with a communication 
from James Grlynn to the President, with reference to his transac- 
tions in the Preble, copy of an extract from the New-York Herald, 
of the 3d January, 1851, &c., &c., together with instructions 
given to Commodore Aulick, and a letter from the President to the 
Emperor of Japan, dated 10th May, 1851. The letter of the 
President has already been published. The highly-important let- 
ter of instructions to Commodore Aulick has not, however, been 
yet given, and will be found below. It displays the object of the 
visit to Japan, so far as the President has given instructions to 
the East India squadron, and is, in reality, the gist of the whole 
affair : — 

Department of State, "Washington, 10th June, 1851. 

Commodore John H. Aulick : 

Sir, — The moment is near when the last link in the chain of 
oceanic steam navigation is to be formed. From China and the 
East Indies, to Egypt, thence through the Mediterranean and the 
Atlantic Ocean, to England, thence again to our happy shores, and 
other parts of this great continent ; from our own ports to the 
southernmost part of the Isthmus, that connects the two western 
continents, and from its Pacific coast, north and southwards, as far 
as civilization has spread, the steamers of other nations, and of our 



172 JAPAN ANH THE JAPANESE, 

own, carry intelligence, the wealth of the world, and thousands of 
travelers. 

It is the President's opinion that steps should be taken at once 
to enable our enterprising merchants to supply the last link in that 
great chain, which unites all nations of the world, by the early es- 
tablishment of a line of steamers from California to China. In 
order to facilitate this enterprise, it is desirable that we should ob- 
tain from the Emperor of Japan permission to purchase from his 
subjects the necessary supplies of coal, which our steamers, in their 
outward and inward voyages may require. The well-known jealousy 
with which the Japanese Empire has, for the last two centuries, 
rejected all overtures from other nations to open its ports to their 
vessels, embarrasses all new attempts to change the exclusive policy 
of that country. 

The interests of commerce, and even those of humanity, demand, 
however, that we should make another appeal to the sovereign of 
that country, in asking him to sell to our steamers — not the manu- 
factures of his artisans, or the results of the toil of his husband- 
men — but a gift of Providence, deposited by the Creator of all 
things, in the depths of the Japanese Islands, for the benefit of the 
human family. 

By the President's direction, I now transmit to you a letter to 
the Emperor of Japan, (with an open copy), which you are to 
carry to Jeddo, his capital, in your flag-ship, accompanied by as 
many of the vessels of the squadron under your command, as may 
conveniently be employed in this service. A Chinese translation 
of this letter will be furnished to you by the United States Lega- 
tion at Canton, and sent to your anchorage at Hong Kong or 
Macao. 

At one of the latter places you will probably meet with a national 
vessel, detached by the Commodore of the squadron in the Pacific, 
(as you will perceive by the inclosed copy of a correspondence be- 
tween this and the Navy Department), to carry to you a number 
of ship-wrecked Japanese mariners, who were, some time ago, 
picked up at sea by the bark Auckland. These men you will take 
with you to Jeddo, and deliver them over to the officers of the 
Emperor, giving them through your interpreter, the assurance that 
the American government will never fail to treat with kindness any 
of the natives of Japan, whom misfortune may bring to our shores ; 
and that it expects similar treatment of such of its own citizens 
who may be driven on the coasts of Japan. 

The letter of the President to the Emperor of Japan, you will 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 173 

deliver to such of his high officers as he may appoint for the pur- 
pose of receiving it. To them jou will explain the main object of 
your visit. 

Mineral coal is so abundant in Japan that the government of 
that country can have no reasonable objection to supplying our 
steamers, at fair prices, with that great necessary of commerce. 
One of the eastern ports of Niphon would be the most desirable 
place for this purpose. Should, however, the government of Japan 
persist in following out its system of exclusiveness, you might, per- 
haps, induce them to consent to the transportation of the coal by 
their own vessels, to a neighboring island, easy of access, where 
the steamers could supply their wants, avoiding thus the necessity 
of an intercourse with any large number of the people of the 
country. 

It is considered important that you should avail yourself of every 
occasion to impress on those Japanese officers with whom you will 
be brought in contact, that the government of the United States 
does not possess any power over the religion of its own citizens, 
and that there is, therefore, no cause to apprehend that it will in- 
terfere with the religion of other countries. 

The President, although fuUy aware of the great reluctance 
hitherto shown by the Japanese government to enter into treaty 
stipulations with any foreign nation— a feeling which it is sincerely 
wished that you may be able to overcome — has thought it proper, 
in anticipation of this latter favorable contingency, to invest you 
with full power to negotiate and sign a treaty of amity and com- 
merce between the United States and the Empire of Japan. 

I transmit, herewith, the act of the President, clothing you with 
that power ; as also copies of the treaty between the United States 
and China, with Siam and the Muscat, which may to a certain ex- 
tent be of use to you as precedents. It is important that you 
should secure to our vessels the right to enter one or more of the 
ports of Japan, and there to dispose of their cargoes either by sale 
or by barter, without being subjected to extravagant port charges ; 
and even more important is it that the government of Japan should 
bind itself to protect American sailors and property which may be 
on their shores. The second article of our treaty with Muscat, 
and the fifth article of the treaty with Siam, embrace these 
objects. 

Every treaty has to be subjected to the Senate, for ratification, 
as you are aware. In consideration of the great distance between 
the two countries, and unforeseen difficulties, it would be prudent, 



174 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

stoiild you succeed in effecting tlie object proposed, to fix the 
period for the exchange of the ratifications at three years. 

I am, Sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, 

DANIEL WEBSTER. 

The accompanying note from the Minister of the Netherlands 
here, will also be found interesting : — 

TRANSLATION. 

Note Verbale. — It is a matter of public notoriety that foreign 
vessels are excluded from Japan, by the government of that em- 
pire. It was, nevertheless, determined in 1842, that, if such ves- 
sels should be cast upon the shores of Japan by storms, or come 
there in want of provisions with a view of asking for such commo- 
dities, water, or wood for fuel, those articles should be granted to 
them on request. 

For fear, however, lest this determination, prompted as it has 
been by feelings of humanity, should give rise to any false inter- 
pretation, the government of Japan has solicited that of the 
Netherlands to inform the other powers that the above-mentioned 
resolution does not infringe upon, or otherwise imply any modifica- 
tion whatever of the system of separation and exclusion, which was 
adopted more than two centuries ago, by the Jajpanese govern- 
ment, and since the establishment of which, the prohibition against 
allowing any foreign vessel to explore the Japanese coasts, has 
been constantly in force. 

The Dutch government has made no difl&culty of complying with 
this request, especially as the government of Japan has no other 
means of making a communication of this nature ; and in pursu- 
ance of instructions from the cabinet of the Hao;ue, the Legation 
of the Netherlands has the honor to communicate the above-men- 
tioned facts to the Hon. Secretary of State of the United States, 
for the information of his government. 

April 30, 1851. 



175 



THE JAPANESE EXPEDTION. 



[From Gleason's Pictorial, May 15.] 

The object of the Japan Expedition is already pretty well un- 
derstood by the public, its main features being to establish between 
this country and Japan a sort of commercial treaty for the benefit 
of both nations in the matter of maritime trade, and also to impress 
that strange and peculiar people with a degree of respect for our 
people and laws. These objects gained, such an expedition, how- 
ever costly, would richly repay our government for the outlay ; and 
our merchantmen and whalers, sometimes driven by storms and 
stress of weather upon these now inhospitable shores, would be ren- 
dered safe, as it regards life and property. 

The following is the list of the squadron : — Steamer Mississippi, 
flag-ship, Capt. McCluney, having on board Com. Perry, com- 
mander of the fleet — steam-frigate Susquehannah, Capt. Buchanan 
— steamer Princeton, Commander Sydney Smith Lee — sloop-of- 
war St. Mary's, Commander Greo. A. McGruder — sloop-of-war 
Plymouth, Commander John Kelly — sloop-of-war Saratoga, Com- 
mander Wm. L. Walker — brig-of-war Perry, Lieut. Fairfax — 
store-ship Supply, Lieut. Arthur St. Clair. The Susquehannah, 
Plymouth and Saratoga are aleady afloat on the Pacific Ocean, 
waiting the arrival of the rest of the squadron. The St. Mary's 
is now on her way to Japan, having on board the Japanese sailors, 
and on reaching Japan, will await the arrival of the fleet. It is 
proposed that the remainder of the squadron get under weigh 
during the present month. The object of the expedition, as 
ofiicially aunou.nced, is to effect a landing at Jeddo, the capital, at 
all hazards, and also to make explorations on shore, and leave no 
efforts untried to' open commercial intercourse with that long-sealed 
people — the fleet to be absent about eighteen months. 

Ineffectual attempts have been made by the Portuguese, the 
Russians, the French, the English, and the Americans, to open 
trade with Japan, but never with success ; and so far do they carry 
the matter of exclusion, that the vessels of foreign nations are not 
even allowed to anchor in the Japanese ports. 

The Empire of Japan is said to include 3850 islands, (including 
uninhabitable rocks), which embrace a territory of 122,720 squai^e 
miles, and the population is estimated at thirty millions. 



176 



THE JAPANESE EXPEDITION, 

IN A EUROPEAN POINT OF VIEW. 



[Translated from La Patrie, of Paris, April 1.] 



The expedition directed by the United States against the 
Japanese empire is not one of those enterprises which can excite 
the distrust or the jealousy of civilized nations. They must, on 
the contrary, make vows in order that the expedition realizes all 
the hopes which it gives to the other side of the Atlantic. In 
England, the most influential organs of the press have applauded that 
great idea ; and in that we can say they have answered the sentiments 
of all the learned men of the United States. It cannot he other- 
wise in France. AU those who attach any value to the extension 
of relations among the different people of the earth, as means of 
increasing the general well-being, will follow with the liveliest in- 
terest, and wiU give all their sympathies to those bold navigators 
who are going to try to open a new and vast field to the spirit of 
enterprise, not only for the American people, but for all the nations 
of the universe. 

It is known, indeed, that the entry of Japan is closed in an ab- 
solute manner to the foreigners of all nations. It is thus a will of 
the jealous and suspicious policy of the government of that country, 
as a faithful imitator of the traditions followed in the empire of 
China. For several centuries this interdiction against foreigners 
has subsisted, and is maintained with the most extreme rigor. 
Sometimes the zeal of Catholic missionaries has baffled the vigilance 
of the Japanese authorities ; but they have been nearly all sacri- 
ficed, and the exertions of these dauntless apostles of civilization 
could not break or raise the barriers established by a policy which 
originated in the most barbarous religious fanaticism. 

A single people of Europe — the Dutch — have been admitted to 
traffic with the Japanese, and this trade was but for the entry of 
two vessels every year in the port of Nangasaki. The value of 
both cargoes was about $300,000. They consisted of sugars, tin, 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 177 

cotton tliread, black pepper, cloves, lead, firwood, cloths, wools, 
camblets, and a quantity of other articles of less importance. lu 
return, these vessels took cargoes of brass and camphor. It is 
known on what shameful conditions the Dutch merchants had the 
power to obtain this exclusive privilege. They could not put their 
foot on the Japanese soil without denying their religion, by tramp- 
ling over the image of the cross. Now, that obligation is no more 
observed, either because the Dutch have refused to submit any 
longer to it, or that the Japanese government has considered is as 
useless. 

The exclusive policy of Japan was not only directed against the 
Western people, but the Eastern people, (with the exception of 
the Chinese,) were equally put under the ban of the empire. The 
Chinese junks are admitted in the port of Nangasaki. 

We have already remarked, in announcing the departure of the 
American expedition, the importance of its results to the commerce 
of the world. One may judge of its importance, when he thinks 
that the Japanese Archipelago has a population estimated by the 
most moderate of travelers to be 30,000,000 of inhabitants (some 
say 45,000,000), that that country is rich in products of every 
kind, which constitute vast means of exchange in the commerce of 
nations. "' 

What England did in China, twelve years ago, the United States 
are going to attempt in Japan. Now-a-days — thanks to the suc- 
cess of the expedition of Admiral Cochrane — the principal ports 
of China are opened to the vessels of all nations of the world ; and 
whatever were the motives of the English policy, in that case, we 
cannot do less than applaud, in the name of the interests of com- 
merce and civilization, the advantages that she has obtained for 
them, and which have been enjoyed ever since. 

We have stated the forces which will compose the American 
expedition. The United States journals do not appear to have the 
least doubt of its success. That is also the opinion of the English 
newspapers. " Indeed," says the London Times, " although the 
Japanese are a more v/arlike race than the Chinese race, they 
could not do anything against the cannons of the three frigates. 
And again, the shores are well known to the American whalers, 
and also the Strait of Sangara, which separates Niphon from Teso, 
the two principal islands of the Japanese empire." 

It is possible that Commodore Perry may encounter, in the 
execution of the enterprise confided to him, unforeseen obstacles; 
but they cannot stop a great nation like America. The immense 



178 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

fesourees which she has at her disposal will permit her to happily 
end, sooner or later, an expedition, the success of which interests 
her commerce to so high a degree. 

It is asserted that, fearing the dangers which threaten it, the 
Japanese government has asked the aid of the Lower Countries, in 
order to obtain their mediation with the United States. We 
strongly doubt whether or not the Lower Countries wish to take 
charge of such negotiations. To accept it, they would act against 
their own interest, for the Dutch commerce can but profit by the 
removal of the interdiction which falls upon the flags of other 
nations in the Japanese ports. 

We repeat it, the civilized nations can only see with pleasure 
the success of an enterprise, in the issue of which they have a direct, 
incontestable advantage ; and France, in herself, must desire its 
success, and prepare herself to take a part in its immense results. 



THE "STRIPES AND STARS" IN THE EAST. 

[From the Dublin Nation, April 3.] 

An expedition of singular interest has by this time sailed from 
the American shores, bound for the seas of Japan. The objects 
with which it is undertaken are to open to the intercourse of the 
world the immense sea-board of that mighty empire, to terminate 
the rigid exclusion which dooms to destruction the vessel of any 
nation which may seek the protection of its harbors from the perils 
of the deep, and to demand the release of numerous Europeans 
and Americans, captured by the jealous and cruel natives, and ex- 
hibited in iron cages in various parts of the Japanese territory. A 
policy similar to. that which so long closed to other nations the seas 
and cities of China, and which isolated that people from the uni- 
versal world, has co-esisted, with but little relaxation, in Japan. 
Spreading over an area of more than 100,000 square miles, having 
a population of at least 30,000,000, rich in many agricultural and 
mineral productions, and possessing considerable manuflicturing 
skill, it is a sealed kingdom to all nations but the Dutch and the 
Chinese, who enjoy a limited exchange of commodities with one or 
two of its cities. Its revenue amounts to forty millions sterling. 
Its people are spirited, and trained to a rude military discipline. 
The whole coast is a continued chain of fortifications, and custom 
and law shut it up in cold and mysterious separation from external 
intercourse. We also know it is governed by an Emperor, who 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 179 

commands an immense standing army, and that its capital city is 
Jeddo. But further, our knowledge has not penetrated. 

America has undertaken to break, if possible, this immemorable 
isolation ; and not without a just plea. The interests of her whale 
trade, which is daily growing into an enormous branch of enter- 
prise, require that her fleets should have free access to and secure 
shelter along that immense line of sea-board which lies opposite her 
Pacific coast. And she has determined that the harbors of the Ja- 
panese territory shall not continue to be more destructive to her 
commerce and her crews, than the storms which drive her ships 
from the open sea to the dangers of more barbarous shores. 

Three war-steamers, a frigate, a sloop of war, and a storeship, 
under the command of the first naval ofl&cer in the United States 
service — Com. Perry — have started on the expedition, commis- 
sioned to seek an amicable arrangement, the release of the tortured 
captives, the freedom of the seas and harbors to the whole world, 
and to propose the establishment of commercial relations between 
the United States and Japan. The proposal for a commercial re- 
lation is left to the free choice of the country and government ; 
but the other propositions are to be rigorously enforced by the 
whole strength of the squadron, if force be necessary. The Ame- 
rican press claims for this project the sympathy of Europe ; and 
certainly, as far as some of the objects of the expedition go, they 
should have the approbation of all men, for it is intolerable that 
the lives of innumerable mariners are sacrificed because the laws of 
Japan interdict its coast to the fleets of the world, and that its 
batteries are opened to murder those who land upon its shores, not 
from choice, but from the vicissitudes of a career which should ex- 
cite commisseration, and command help, above all human occupa- 
tions. But we confess we are not learned enough in the abstraction 
called the "laws of nations," to admit that it is competent on any 
one country absolutely to impose relationship and intercourse upon 
another against its will, and in contravention of its peculiar consti- 
tution. The interests of civilization and of religion are the ready 
and habitual pleas with which the advocates of such " propagations" 
silence all objectors. But if cruelties, similar to those which dis- 
grace the British name in India, are the only benefits to be derived 
by civilization, and if apocryphal conversions, similar to those 
achieved for the Gospel in Southern Africa, be the only " vine- 
yards" to be gained for religion, we doubt the morality and value 
of such bloody and unholy conquests. 

Let America vindicate and defend the inviolability of her sea- 



180 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

Inen, and exact protection of those adventurers of all the earth 
who live upon the wide and perilous waters ; but let her statesmen 
remember, as a warning, the infamy which the atrocious opium war 
with China brought upon England, and let her government shrink 
from forcing upon a strange, independent, and weaker people, an 
intercourse which they do not desire, and which may be the fatal 
parent of their subjugation and destruction. She, the pioneer of 
the world's progress, the sentinel of human liberty, should not 
push her legitimate demands beyond the exact limits of righteous- 
ness — she should not permit a necessary enterprise to degenerate 
into a gigantic piracy. Let her remonstrate and arbitrate ; but 
let not her unstained banner wave above a conquered nationality. 



THE AMERICAN EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 

[From the London Examiner, April 17.] 

The great Atlantic Republic is about to come into collision with 
the Empire of Japan, and is sending an expedition to claim redress 
for flagrant violations of the law of nations, as well as with the 
hope to eifect ultimately the grand object of obliging the Japanese 
to renew that intercourse with the rest of mankind on which they 
have vu'tually laid an embargo for two centuries. By the laws of 
Japan, no native of the country can quit it, nor foreigner enter it, 
under pain of death, or at best of perpetual imprisonment. This 
law was enacted in consequence of the intrigues of the Portuguese 
and Spanish priesthood, who, according to the view taken by the 
Japanese of their conduct, were, under the mask of religious con- 
version, sapping the foundations of government. Before the 
edicts of seclusion and isolation took eifect, the Japanese, as do 
now the Chinese, had carried on trade with the Islands of the In- 
dian Archipelago ; and even as far west as Malacca and Bantam 
their merchants were found in the beginning of the sixteenth cen- 
tury, by the Portuguese, on their first arrival in those seas, and 
were there distinguished above all other Asiatic traders for their 
integrity. Even as late as the commencement of the subsequent 
century, we find them employed, as what we should now call Se- 
poys, by the European insular governments, being chosen as such 
from among many nations, for superior courage and fidelity. 

The law of exclusion has continued to be carried into eii'^ct by 
the Japanese government to the length of inhumanity ; and, in- 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 181 

deed, to be effectual at all, it could hardly be otherwise. Foreign 
ships in distress, approaching the shores of Japan, instead of being 
assisted, are repelled by force and insult ; shipwrecked mariners 
are imprisoned, exhibited in cages, or put to death ; and cargoes 
are confiscated. There certainly can, in this case, be no question 
of a palpable violation of the law of nature and nations ; for, in- 
dependent of the crimes perpetrated, and which amount to a vir- 
tual piracy, the Japanese have no more right to preclude access to 
their coasts than to bar a similar extent of the ocean — both being 
equally the common inheritance of mankind. The subjects of the 
American Republic have of late been the chief victims of this 
barbarous and intolerable law ; the fishing grounds of their whalers 
being close to the Japan Islands, which afford, naturally, their 
most convenient ports of refuge, and several hundreds of them 
passing yearly through the strait which divides the great Island of 
Niepon from the more northern large one of Jesso. 

The Americans, now planted on the shores of the Pacific, send 
a force to demand reparation for injuries done to themselves by 
such flagrant violation of the laws of nature and society — to com- 
pel the Japanese to renew their intercourse with the rest of man- 
kind, and to forbear from the practice of a ferocious inhospitality. 
For the common good of the world, and for the sake of civilization 
and justice, we wish them every success, although we have our own 
doubts whether the means they propose to apply be adequate to 
the end they contemplate to attain. 

Let us see. The area of the Japanese empire is said to be 
266,000 square miles, which makes it larger than France and 
England put together. The population is reckoned by the Ameri- 
can writers, and probably without undue exaggeration, at thirty 
inillions ; less civilized, no doubt, than the Chinese, but a good 
deal more hardy and warlike. Japan does not contain, as China 
does, great navigable rivers, by which an invader can penetrate into 
the interior ; nor does one part of the Japanese empire depend 
for food on another, as the northern provinces of China do on those 
of the southern ; so that the Japanese cannot be starved by an in- 
vader into a capitulation, as we starved the Chinese, by carrying 
our operations to the head of the great artery that feeds the 
Chinese capital. Japan, moreover, does not contain, like China, 
two distinct races of unamalgamated men — conquerors and con- 
quered — the last ready to rise in revolt against the first, and far 
outnumbering them. The Japanese who rule and are ruled, are, 
on the contrary, one and the same people. 



182 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

The Japanese are assailable alone by their coasts, and that only 
where a great town is so near the shore as to be open to the 
broadsides of the American scfuadron. The redress-squadron is to 
consist of three powerful steam-frigates, one sailing-frigate, one 
corvette, and a store-ship. Including sailors and marines, we 
fancy the whole force cannot well exceed 2000 men ; and we 
cannot agree with an American journalist in thinking, that such a 
force will be sufficient to coerce a vain, ignorant, semi-barbarous, 
and sanguinary nation of thirty millions of people, into the sur- 
render of an organic law of 200 years' standing. The only chance 
of success, as it appears to us, is likely to be found in a bombard- 
ment of Jeddo, the capital of the Secular Emperor, which lies at 
the head of a deep and accessible bay on the eastern side of the 
great island. We notice that light field-pieces are spoken of in 
the American newspapers ; but such an incumbrance, which implies 
landing, ought not to be thought of. The Americans must not 
quit their wooden walls. Within these they are powerful and un- 
conquerable ; but, landing, they could not penetrate five miles into 
the interior without inevitable perdition. In our own contest with 
China, a simpleton in authority proposed to march, with our whole 
disposable force, from the river Peiho on Pekin, a march of 120 
miles, with a view of catching the Emperor. Fortunately, the 
rash project was not carried out, for if it had been, we should 
certainly have caught a Tartar, but not the one we went in 
search of. 



JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE, 183 

[From the New York Herald, May 21, 1852.] 

THE DUTCH FRiaATE— THE PEINCE OF OEANGE. 

HER VISITERS NEWS FOR THE JAPANESE EXPEDITION, ETC. 

This noble frigate has become a regular lion, and draws large 
concourses of ladies and gentlemen, who are delighted with the 
courteous and attentive reception extended to them by her gallant 
captain and officers. Yesterday, their leading theme was. the 
beauty and classical symmetry of the New York ladies, and their 
amiable temper in diving into all the recesses of their fine ship. 
For the first time, we had the pleasure of an interview with Cap- 
tain D. Byl de Vroe, who is a perfect leait, ideal of all that should 
constitute a naval officer, and a gentleman. " Every man," said 
the gallant captain to us, " is welcome to come into my cabin, no 
matter who he is — provided he be an honest man." That expres- 
sion may be taken as an exponent of his character, and fully tallied 
with his noble and generous mien. We found him entertaining a 
party of ladies with amusing anecdotes and conversation, and giving 
suitable advice, for the proper inspection of his frigate. He is 
middle-aged, tall, stout, and seaman-like, and we hear through re- 
liable sources, that he has seen considerable service. The lieuten- 
ants .are officers of great experience, having been engaged in active 
service ; in fact, she is a perfect specimen of the Dutch navy, and 
well does she honor it. Among her midshipmen, will be perceived 
two young gentlemen who are barons of Holland ; but, unlike the 
corrupt, aristocratic and unfair system, adopted in the British 
navy, they enjoy no privilege beyond their brother officers of the 
same rank, and are promoted according to their gallantry and ser- 
vice. 

Among the topics of our conversation which occasionally turned 
up, was the political institutions of our republic, its lightness of 
taxation, the absolute freedom of the press, and our equality, and 
the similarity of the free institutions and spirit of Holland, to our 
own, of which they are justly proud. The freedom of the press of 
Holland, regarding the expression of opinion, is about equal to our 
own, though each paper is subject to a stamp duty. The gallant 
officers are pretty well up in the politics of our country ; and, 
speaking of the proposed Japan Expedition, one of them, who is 
well acquainted with Japan and its coast, and the military force 
of that empire, and the extent of its fortifications, was inclined to 



184 JAPAN AND THE JAPANESE. 

think that the force of Commodore Perry would be found insuffi- 
cient to accomplish a warlike negotiation, and as to a peaceable 
one, the gallant officer assured us that the Emperor of Japan 
would not even hear of opening his ports to us. The two ships 
which the Dutch are allowed to send to Nangasaki in the Japanese 
empire, were always strictly guarded ; and upon any of the officers 
or men going ashore, they were surrounded by a guard of a thou- 
sand men. We hear nothing of any inclination on the part of the 
Dutch government to interfere with our operations ; but we under- 
stand the Japanese are fully competent to defend themselves, and 
are making preparations to give us a warm reception. So look 
out, Commodore Perry. 



[From Zadkiel's Almanac, Lond., 1852 — ^p. 89.] 

A total Eclipse of the Sun, visible chiefly in the eastern and 
northern parts of Asia. The Eclipse will be central at noon, in 
long. 127° 18' E., lat. 37° 28 N., which falls in the centre of 
Corea, and it will be seen so from the borders of Siberia, in long. 
92° E. lat. 59° N., down through Tartary to the Yellow Sea, and 
the Isles of Japan. The greatest Eclipse at 3 h. 24 m., A. M., 
Dec. 11th, Greenwich time. It occurs in the 20th deg. J. It 
will produce great mortality among camels and horses in the East, 
also much fighting and warlike doings, and I judge that it will carry 
war into the peaceful vales of Japan, for there, too, do the men 
of the West follow the track of gain, " seeking the bubble-reputa- 
tion, even in the cannon's mouth." 



Frcmi the Sunday Atlas, June 20th, 1852 — S. S. Sonthivorth, Editor. 
THE THERAPEUTIST. 

There is something wonderfal in the fact tliat all the ideas and opinions of 
celebrated writers, both ancient and modem, prove it is no new theory of 
speculative fallacy, but the comprehended wisdom of all scientific research 
and physiological knowledge, from the earliest period of time, that the brain 
is not only the source of reason and thought, but the grand magazine or de- 
pot of all physical vitality, the source of health, strength and vigorous longe- 
vity, and that all diseases are dependent upon its condition. See Dr. Parr's 
Medical Dictionary, 2 vol. 4to. London edition : 

" If we examine the functions of the nervous system, we shall find life and 
health depend upon the regular disposition of the nervous power. The 
whole nervous influence is regulated in the state of the brain, and if that ar- 
rangement can be altered by any violent stimulant, or sedative impression, 
the rest must suffer or experience a similar change, and when we contem- 
plate the various phenomena which diseases of the nervous system present, 
we are inclined to adopt this opinion. The nerves are the sources of the gal- 
vanic fluid, and that these and the nei-vous fluids are the same ; and if the 
excess of electricity disappears we must look for some reservoir in which it 
is collected, some storehouse from which it may be issued, and this from 
the facts before, appears to be the brain. The cells of the lungs are really 
galvanic organs, through which the electricity is discharged into the lungs, 
where the fluids loaded with carbon, increase its activity — giving a stimulus 
to the heart." — p. 487, vol. 1 

Dr. Bringham, the intelligent and deep-thinking writer upon the Brain 
and Nerves, says, " It is gratifying to perceive that the formation of the brain 
and nerves are now attracting the attention of medical inquirers. Many of the 
most industrious and distinguishedmembers of the medical profession arer pros- 
ecuting their research with great earnestness, respecting the structure, growth 
and diseased appearance of the brain and nerves, with a view of ascer- 
taining their functions and remedying their diseases. We may therefore rea- 
sonably expect within a short period, valuable additions to our knowledge 
of the nervous system." 

In fact every writer from Paraselsus to Mesmer and Dr. Newman, have 
favored this hypothesis, and every action of life proves it. Look at thousands 
of anecdotes of taking diseases from imagination, the fluids of the brain ari- 
sing and engendering while it is under the apprehension of diseases, carries 
it through the system and deposits it. The immediate effect of the brain 
voluntarily acting upon all the functions of the body can be demonstrated in 
thousands of ways. What reason is there that any sudden knowledge of 
loss should destroy the appetite, but that the fluids of the brain are carried 
electrically to the nei-ves of digestion 1 Why should fear make the legs 
tremble % And this is as positive as that food nourishes, as many proofs can 
be adduced to show. Now, the question is, how is that fluid to be excited to 
healthy action, so as to transmit a fluid of suflScient strength to annul those 
foully impregnated with disease and inactivitj^ 1 We answer, by magnetism, 
internal-electro magnetism, which has such wonderfully exciting power upon 
the brain that it may almost be said to make it boil, and in that boiling the 
steam is so thrown off, that no matter how diseased the surface may be, or 
how deeply impregnated, keep on boiling, and all the diseased emanations 
must at last be exhausted, and the healthy fluids from the body of the brain 
be extracted. This, we say, can be produced, not only best — but only, by 
Dr. Watts' Nervous antidote, it being the only remedy yet discovered capa- 
ble of producing that effect. 



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